The work, Lampit Dan Rumbia III, is a tome of hard work and perseverance, industry and survival. With only the lampit, a rotan mat as creature comfort rather than say, the luxury of a mattress of down feathers, one can still achieve what one sets out to do, given strength, effort and will. The lampit may represent simple and humble living, but it is one cosy bed of conscience. Drawing on the natural trappings of his childhood hard life in his Kuala Penyu home base, Awang Damit Ahmad revels in the beatific results. Going by the Malay idiom, ‘kalau tak dipecahkan ruyung tak akan dapat sagunya’, the inference is that one has to crack open the obdurate bark and exterior (ruyung) of the rumbia palm, in order to get at the starchy sagu (sago), a staple food in rural society. The English equivalents include, ‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained’, or ‘You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs’. It follows his pet theme of striking a balance between Man and Nature, as part of his seminal Essence Of Culture series, from between 1985-1995. Awang Damit Ahmad was the Best Student at Universiti ITM in 1983, when he was 27. Though a comparative late-starter in art, he was selected among the established names in Malaysia’s major exhibition in the United States, the Contemporary Paintings of Malaysia exhibition at the Asia-Pacific Museum in Pasadena in 1988. That year, he won 2nd Prize in the Malaysian Banks Association art competition. He won the Minor Award in the Bakat Muda Sezaman in 1984. He studied for his MFA at the Catholic University in Washington DC, United States, 1989-1990. In 1992, Awang Damit truly catapulted into the art mainstream with his Major Award (Painting) triumph in the 3rd Salon Malaysia III for his work, Nyanyian Petani Gunung (now in Petronas Collection). He also won Honourable Mentions in the Philip Morris Asean Art Award in 1994 and 1995.