Artist Biography

Jainal Amambing is a prominent contemporary artist and author hailing from the indigenous Rungus ethnic group on the island of Borneo. His childhood experiences in a traditional Rungus longhouse deeply influenced his art, reflecting the endangered traditions of his community amidst modernization. His paintings and illustrations, primarily in oils and gouache, depict the everyday life, survival techniques, crafts, and cultural heritage of the Sabah people. Though self-taught, Jainal Amambing’s mentor was the renowned illustrator Yusof Gajah, who encouraged him to continue his style in naïve art. They met at a picture-book illustration workshop led by the latter organized by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

Many of Jainal Amambing’s works focus on children and the preservation of their cultural heritage. His art has been showcased in numerous exhibitions, including exhibitions organized by the Sabah Art Gallery; “Between Two Territories”, National Art Gallery (2001), “Singapore Biennale: If the World Changed”, Singapore (2013), and “Berlin International Literature Festival”, Germany (2021). His solos were held at the El Centro Bar/Café, Kota Kinabalu (2017) and G Wonder Khayalan Home Art Gallery, Kudat, Sabah (2022). Apart from being an acclaimed artist, he has also authored several award-winning children's books, winning multiple accolades, including the Sabah Annual Selection Award, as well as the Noma Concours Award organised by the Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre (ACCU) for UNESCO, Tokyo, Japan.

At the Noma Concours for Picture Book Illustration competition, he won Second Prize in 2000 (“The Wonder Sparrow”) and 2007 (“The Last Day I Lived in a Long House”); runner up in 2004 (“A Wonderful Tree”) and 2002 (“Tadtaru Misses the Sunrise”); and Encouragement Prize in 2008 (“The Magic Buffalo”) and 1998 (“The Proud Butterfly and the Strange Tree”). In 2014, his children's book - “Sansarinaga and the Flying Buffalo” (otherwise known as “The Magic Buffalo”) was published in the German language by Baobab Books, Basel, Switzerland. Jainal Amambing’s paintings are part of the collection of the Singapore Art Museum.