Row furiously and steadfastly as the waves crest and droop. It requires strength, agility and guile in order to overcome the obstacles and to survive. The oars are dramatically tilted upwards and forward, thrusting into the air to jolt the viewer’s space, before they dip into the raging waters to get momentum. This is Mad Anuar Ismail’s defining Storm Rider (Perentas Ribut) series harking to his childhood observation and admiration of the daily perils faced by fishermen in his hometown in Dungun, Terengganu, as they set out in the South China Sea. It’s a tough and dangerous way of making a living, but that’s the resilience of the human spirit. It has become Mad Anuar’s calling card, apart from his other series related to his Malay world like Pahlawan, Belangkas, Meditasi and Pemain Rebat. Mad Anuar works in wood and welded steel. Mad Anuar Ismail celebrated his 40 years of sculpting with his first solo, Getaran at White Box, Publika, Kuala Lumpur, in August 2017. Organised by Fergana Art, it put him among the pantheons of Malaysian sculpture though he had featured in several group exhibitions including the international RUPA Malaysia in London in 1999. He was also featured in the 50th Years Merdeka exhibition. His major commissions include the redesigning of the Monumen Pahlawan Perak and the door of Masjid Pekan in Pahang. He received his BFA at the Mara Institute of Technology in 1977, and worked as a set cum graphic designer with the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture in the 1980s.