How oxen, cows and buffaloes are an important motif in Malaysian art

Anthony Lau's 'Wild Bull' (stone and cement dust, 1962), picture foreground, with Ahmad Zakii Anuar's 'Daging 2' (bitumen on canvas, 2009), seen at the 'Negaraku' exhibition at the National Art Gallery in KL in 2017. Photo: Filepic

The Year of the Metal Ox is here, and there has been a barrage of imagery, reflecting and celebrating this mighty beast, the second of the 12-year periodic sequence (cycle) of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac.

Instead of taking the festive route, let's detour with some artworks - featuring the ox to kerbau - by Malaysian artists through the years. The art galleries might be closed now because of the pandemic, but that is no reason to forget local art.