Ahmad Fuad Osman and his Matahati brethren are known for their parodies on contemporary socio-political issues. Here, going by the title, Parasite, is difficult to tell who is providing succour to whom, although the figures encased inside the orb on top look effete, with a listless arm dropping out. An umbilical cord serves as a conduit of nutrients and sustenance, and is tightly held by the nondescript ‘creature’ at the bottom. It’s aspersions against the hangers-on, right-wing political NGOs perhaps serving their masters’ bidding in return for financial support. Fuad’s credo is that he does not subscribe to a single-thought process, style, medium or material, over another. “Art becomes a window through which I am given a freedom to get to know life, the world and its Creator,” he intoned. Born in Baling, Kedah, Ahmad Fuad Osman was a member of the Matahati artist’s collective. He had won the Juror’s Choice Award in the Malaysian-level Asean Art Awards in 2000 and 2003, and also the Juror’s Choice in the APB Signature Art Prize (Singapore) in 2008. He had residency at Rimbun Dahan (2007-2008); Goyang Art Studio, South Korea (2005-2006); and Vermont Studio Centre, USA (2004). He had his art tutelage at the Mara Institute of Technology in 1991.