Artist:  Husni Osman

Medium:  Oil on Canvas

Size:  123cm x 183cm

Year:  2015

The curtain rises on a common scene of a young boy just entering his school years, unsure about how to handle the conflict with his new circle of peers and environment.  The Whisper captures this sullen and resentful kid hiding in a dark corner.

The powerful tone and wash on the empty space of the painting gives a sense of melancholy, loneliness and alienation in the background, yet pushes forth the heavily textured central figure of the little boy.  The continuous construction and deconstruction of layers slowly reveals two imaginary figures.  The one on the right side is probably persuading him to conform, while the left figure looming above with a more stubborn gaze suggests to him otherwise.  It is, perhaps, a conflict Husni faced when he was stuck in the crack between two worlds, city and village.

The Whisper conveys the importance of taking different perspectives from the leftist and rightist views so that along with proper time and space, we can better gauge the circumstances and perhaps choose a more mature response.