The face is a mark of identity and expressions, and yet it can be inscrutable. The face here can’t possibly be a self-portrait but is open to different psychological interpretations. The artist, Dzulkifli Buyong, was known to be sensitive, reticent and given to solitary brooding, and this work during his Japanese sojourn around 1969-70 perhaps indicates his descent into personal turmoil because he found Japan a cultural shock. There’s lots of tension with the coloured lines either emanating from, or flowing to, the face proper. The eyebrows are all screwed together indicating a tensed inner trauma and it might recall the kabuki face painting of Kumadori. Buyong is known for painting cats, or it could be seen as (cat) whiskers growing on a man’s face. Dzulkifli Buyong was a wunderkind of the Wednesday Art Group which he joined from 1962-1966. He is known for his mini psychological dramas of children at play and in the rural home surroundings, and often with a cat in tow or sometimes with the cat taking centrestage itself. He first excelled in 1962 when he won the Best Overall Entry award presented by the Raja Permaisuri Agong and then prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman. His other awards include: 1st, 2nd and 3rd Prizes (pastels), Young Friends’ Art Competition 1962; 3rd Prize (oil) and 3rd Prize (pastel), Mother & Child competition 1963; 1st and 2nd (pastels), Young Friends Competition 1963; 3rd Prize, Bahasa Kebangsaan Month Poster Competition, 1964; 2nd Prize (pastel), Joy Of Living competition, 1964. His auction record was RM134,400 set in the October 2018 Henry Butcher Art Auction for Kucing Sakit (1984).