Mohammad Din Mohammad

Mohammad Din Mohammad was a Singaporean Malay painter who is known for his expressive works of art inspired by Sufism. Mohammad Din's paintings and assemblages are also heavily influenced by his devotion to the practice of the Malay martial arts called silat. He was also a practising bomoh or traditional healer.
Education and Personal Life.
Born in Kampung Gangsa in Malacca, Malaysia, Mohammad Din's family migrated to Singapore when he was two years old. As a boy he was interested in art, experimenting in ceramics, making clay cups at the age of five. Formal education for Malay youths, meant the study of traditional art forms at the time. At the age of 12, Mohammad Din began to learn silat, traditional massage and herbal healing techniques. In 1973, Mohammad went on to study art at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), majoring in western painting, where he took to the Realist portrait painting style. 
Career.
After graduating from NAFA in 1976 he began his life as an artist plying old Bugis Street drawing portraits for tourists and travellers. This went on for the next 5 years. In 1980, Mohammad Din began acting in Malay theatre, with his first role as the character Laertees in a Malay adaptation of "Hamlet" by the Malay arts group Perkumpulan Seni. He also acted in a Singapore drama serial, Jejak Kembara (The Wanderer) in April 1980.
In 1983, a motorcycle accident in Pontian nearly resulted in the amputation of Mohammad Din's ankle. Although doctors managed to join the ankle in place through an operation, gangrene set in soon after. Ignoring his doctor's pleas to amputate, Mohammad Din sought treatment from his silat master Pak Hamin Bujang. After two years of intense treatment, he was able to walk and perform silat again. He became a strong believer in traditional Malay medicine, and went on to study and practice traditional healing techniques.
In the 1990s, Mhd Din began to develop “The Mystical Approach,” a wide-ranging theory that sought to understand the sources of the different shapes and forms in the world. He studied rigorously and traveled extensively across Malaysia and Indonesia, relying on Sufism as a vehicle to explore the multiple meanings associated with Southeast Asian objects. His aim was to develop artworks that could enhance the emotional and physical well-being of those who encountered them. He saw his artworks as a form of preventive medicine, and the people who engaged with them as his patients.
Mohammad Din and his wife and fellow artist, Hamidah Jalil collected hundreds of Southeast Asian cultural artifacts. These ranged from Kris and Wayang kulit to rare coins, Malay medicinal manuscripts, and textiles. Mohammad Din often drew from these materials in his works, which he also intended to operate as vehicles for navigating the social and economic pressures of modern life.
In 1999, Mohammad Din and his friend Ahmad Zakii Anwar began learning calligraphy from an Iranian master. This formal training led Mohammad Din to incorporate the science of Arabic letters in his work, marking a shift in his art. He explored the 28 Arabic letters as expressions of the Sufi mystic’s longing for love and beauty in the world. This search, combined  with Mohammad Din’s practice of "silat", made his calligraphy unique. Describing this approach as “Calligraphic Energy,” Mohammad Din mixed acrylic, texture paste and gel directly on the canvas using his hands to render bold Arabic alphabets from chapters (surah) of the Quran. By eschewing the paintbrush in favor of painting with his bare hands, he adapted the "silat" technique of channeling inner energy through bodily movements.
From 1978 till 2006, Mohammad Din's artworks were featured in 20 solo exhibitions locally and overseas, such as "People and Landscape", shown across Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia in 1978; "Wishy and Washy" in 1980; "Memories of South East Asia", shown across Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia in 1983; "Mystical and Tailsmanic Energy" in 1994; "Flora and Foliate" in 1997; "Inspiration Mystique" at Paris, France in 2000; "Paris Experiences" in 2000; "Zikr – Hands on Calligraphy" at Malaysia in 2000; "Towards Self-Unification" at Paris, France in 2001; "Experience and Memories" at Turkey in 2003; "Flowers and BMW Cars" at Hong Kong in 2004. His work was also posthumously exhibited for "Mystical Manoeuvre" in Malaysia in 2007. Mohammad Din was also a member of the Modern Art Society of Singapore.
Following his death, his family opened a gallery in 2008, Galeri Mohammad Din Mohammad, in Malacca, Malaysia to commemorate his art and life. His practice was posthumously featured in the exhibition "Archives and Desires: Selections from the Mohammad Din Mohammad Collection" (2008) at the NUS Museum and curated by Shabbir Hussain Mustafa.
Art and mysticism.
Mohammad Din is best remembered for his provocative paintings and assemblages, which combines a wide variety of influences. Above all, his artworks signify the complex flows that make up Malay mysticism. His art, especially his calligraphy paintings and assemblages are deeply rooted in Sufi mysticism, which he practiced throughout his life. Through his art, Mohammad Din sought to "stitch" together his beliefs, and life philosophies into a common entity—an artwork that is "an assembly of separated body and soul".