Sarkasi Said's rare batik works on show in restaurant

Thirteen monochrome works by the late Cultural Medallion recipient line the walls of The Aleeya in a special exhibition

- Clement Yong Correspondent

Four men have come together for an unusual project to honour their late fathers' legacies, culminating in a special art exhibition in a restaurant.

The Aleeya in Dickson Road marking its one-year anniversary on Oct 11 is hosting 13 black-and-white batik works by the late Cultural Medallion recipient Sarkasi Said. It is the first time the unique series, made soon after Sarkasi received news in the early 2000s that his kidney was failing, has been shown together.

Sarkasi, whose abstract, futuristic vision is usually much more colourful, kept his condition hidden from his family and opted out of dialysis. He died at home of kidney failure in 2021, aged 81.

His eldest son Ika Sarkasi, also a batik artist, curated the show after he was approached by The Aleeya's owners Hairul Isa, Najeeb Ali and Reza Ali for a design collaboration in December 2024. Mr Najeeb and Mr Reza are the sons of the late Ustaz Ali Mohamed, co-founder of the Religious Rehabilitation Group and a onetime food caterer, while Mr Hairul is his son-in-law.