Ismail Awi’s stimulating dreamscape is a vision of fantasy. Drama Queen illustrates a masked woman blossoms into a flower as though she is dressed in haute couture attending a floral themed gala like the Met. In the background is an ornamental mirror that reflects a mountainous landscape that echoes Mount Rushmore’s sculptures carved into the granite face. Ismail Awi’s current meteoric rise to stardom in the emerging artist segment is aided by supportive galleries and art patrons. He has participated in several group exhibitions namely The Young Artists at HOM Art Trans in 2012; 4WARD Exhibition at Segaris Art Center alongside fellow Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) graduates Khairul Arshad, Arikwibowo Amril and Syed Fakaruddin in December 2013; We R Gen-Y at G13 Gallery in 2016; a showcase by Segaris Art Center in Art Expo Malaysia; and The Young Contempo Showcase II presented by Curate Henry Butcher and held at Galeri Prima in December 2017. In October 2018, aged 31, one of his paintings fetched an astronomical price of HKD150,000 in Sotheby’s Hong Kong Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian art sale.