Redza Piyadasa's early works in figures are little known, especially one featuring the rebab which is a long-necked bowed instrument integral in ritual Makyong and Main Peteri performances in Kelantan and Terengganu. In 1968-1969, Piyadasa had taught at the Sekolah Menengah Sultan Sulaiman in Kuala Terengganu, and his fascination could have stemmed from there. But with increasing Islamisation in the country, Kelantan proscribed both dance dramas in 1991. Noteworthy of the painting is that the player looks youngish, and therein lies hope that the young generation more exposed to hip-hop and rap and who are not adverse to their traditional heritage. Besides, the ambient colours are cheery. As an artist, Redza Piyadasa was unorthodox; as a writer-historian, controversial. He first excelled when he jointly won the Major Prize in the Malaysian Landscape competition in 1974 with Lee Kian Seng. On the international scene, he won the Prince Claus Award (1998), Australian Cultural Award (1987) and the Japan Foundation Travel Award (1992). He was also artist-in-residence at Canberra Institute of the Arts in 1991. He was also a co-founder of the Five Arts Centre. In 2001, the National Art Gallery KL accorded him a retrospective. Piyadasa's tutelage was at the Universitiy of Hawaii (MFA), Hornsey College of Arts; Malayan Teachers College, Brinsford Lodge, Wolverhampton, Britain; and the Specialist Teachers Training College, Kuala Lumpur.