Compare this rural landscape done in 2004 by Khalil Ibrahim and the few surviving works of his kampung scenes done in the 1950s, you’ll find that nothing much has changed. Changes there are, but subtle. There’s a sense of desolation now, with the elderly probably packing up to live with their children in the cities or have passed on. Or the artist’s perceptions and interpretations have also changed, more confident in techniques but yearning for the good ole days of climbing trees and catching fishes in the sawah padi. More shady trees and fruit trees have replaced the once prevalent coconut trees: even the coconut-plucking monkeys have retired. Even with the flooded plains, the more clustered trees and with the mountains in the distant, the village landscape is still very much a sentimental picture.