Artist Biography

Hailing from Menumbok, Sabah, Awang Fadilah Bin Ali Hussein, also known as ‘Awang Borneo’ and 'Man Land Below the Wind', is a well-known naïve artist, illustrator, author, and the founder of the 'Sabah Naïve Art Group' in Kota Kinabalu. His works are characterised by distinct black and white colour, cartoonish with an innocent child-like lens, often themed with the vibrant Borneo art and cultural heritage, as well as the rich natural sceneries of Sabah. Awang Fadilah began to become active as an artist in the late 1990s after attending a workshop organised by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), and learnt drawing from the famous artist – Yusof Ismail (more widely known as Yusof ‘Gajah’).

He has taken part in various exhibitions including those organised by Balai Seni Lukis Sabah, and extended his reach not just in Malaysia but also overseas, such as Slovakia, London, Russia, South Korea and at Japan’s National Diet and International Library of Children’s Literature in Tokyo. He earned his reputation by winning several art competitions, most notably Sabah Annual Art Selection, as well as the ‘Noma Concours for Picture Book Illustrations’ organised by the Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO in Tokyo, Japan in 2006, in which he won runner-up prize with the illustrations in his book ‘Land Below the Wind’. Awang Fadilah also won the Purple Island Award, Nami Concours International Picture Book Illustrations, held in Nami Island, Korea (2015). In 2022, his solo exhibition was held at Galeri Azman Hashim Universiti Malaysia Sabah, in cooperation with Persatuan Seni Visual Sabah (PSVS). His paintings were displayed at the Sabah Art Gallery, Sabah Government Administrative Complex and within the collection of Gallery DaOn, Seoul, Korea.