It’s a devastating blow to the hull, as thick billows of smoke rise amidst the fallen masts. The setting recalls the 18th or 19th century with the sepia tint of the bitumen providing the aura, and with the man-of-war in the foreground making a last-gasp stand before sinking into oblivion. A ship in the distance sailing towards viewer and coming from the blindside, glides in for the final kill. Human history is replete with the totality of Might, which is Right, the laws of the jungle. Naval superiority is inextricably tied to the glory of empires, which rise and fall on strategems and sometimes, the weather. The battle also reflects infighting within the political parties, certain communities, etc. Hamir Soib’s large canvases usually comment on Politics, Pollution, Corruption and Social Ills. In 2017, he held a solo called Small Works at the Segaris Art Center. He has also excelled as set designer for theatre and films and won Best Art Director for Perempuan Melayu Terakhir (in collaboration with Zuraini Anuar) in the Malaysian Film Awards in 1999. In 2005, he founded Gudang, an alternative space cum studio, which staged his first solo, Pameran Tunggal. Hamir was a Finalist in the Sovereign Art Prize in Hong Kong in 2007, and won the Galeri Shah Alam Young Incentive Award in 2005. He was an artist in residence at Malihom in 2007. His auction record was set at the April 2016 Sotheby’s Hong Kong auction for The Stitches, with a premium of approximately RM146,000.