Artist:  Husni Osman

Medium:  Oil on Canvas

Size:  183cm x 123cm

Year:  2015

Dark, hollow ghastly eyes set dramatically against grey chalky skin results in a masklike appearance on the teenager.  The arrival of teenhood is somehow dark for most as it is a period of discovery; where mental and physiological changes become most eminent.

These changes lead to the search for self-identity, while the belief that as teems they too have a fair bit of knowledge about the human world is probably conflicted by the feeling that they are not understood by their family and peers.  Husni’s use of this upright and tight-lipped teenager depicts the difficult period of teenhood, which may turn out to be a period of either escapism or rebellion.

The (Non) Conformist is a simple but important reflection on the young generation of the Malaysian society that plays a pivotal role in the landscape of the societal formation.