This was the last of five drawings from the Spaces and Forms 1975 Series that were not put up for the Henry Butcher June 19, 2011 auction, because the collector decided to hold on to one for keepsake. The works of sinuous ribbons of parallel hair-like lines delineating torsos and limbs were done spontaneously during an outing between the artist and his family and friends. He was persuaded to sell them, and later when it was sent back to him for minor touch-ups, he decided to give the original white drawings a red pigmentation coating. As one of the most iconic Malaysian artists with the highest international profile, Datuk Ibrahim Hussein had the distinction of being awarded three Dato/Datukship titles, besides the one-off Anugerah Tokoh Melayu Terbilang in 2007. His major awards include the Order of Andres Bello, Venezuela (1993), the Order of Bernardo O’ Higgins, Chile (1996), the World Economic Forum’s Crystal Award, Switzerland (1977) and the Japan Foundation Cultural Award (1981). His biggest early break was when he was chosen to exhibit alongside Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali in Kuwait in 1977. He founded the Ibrahim Hussein Museum and Cultural Foundation which run his museum in Langkawi, starting with the Langkawi International Festival of the Arts in 2000. He had also organised the Club Mediterrane Asian Arts Festival in Bali, Indonesia, and Cherating, Pahang. Ib, as the artist is fondly known, studied briefly at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore in 1956, before furthering his studies in London, first at the Byam Shaw School of Drawing and Painting (1959-63), and then the Royal Academy of Art (1963-66). Malaysia’s National Art Gallery honoured him with a Retrospective in 1986.