Ibrahim Hussein

1.(a)

• I think that the artist juxtaposed his father and the astronaut together to show the vast difference between them. even though they were both living during the same time, the two people seem to be living in two different worlds.
• this is emphasized by the vast difference in attire
• we can clearly see the artist's father's features  and he is only wearing a red and yellow traditional Malaysian sarong around his waist. in contrast to that, the astronaut's whole body is hidden behind his suit and it is impossible to tell anything about the person inside it, such as the person's age, gender, or basic physical features. the astronaut's suit is also colourless and impersonal, which contrasts to the colourful sarong which has a rich culture and heritage to it. the contrast between the traditional sarong and the futuristic astronaut suit is also seen.
• the artist seems to juxtapose the two to show how there was an immense difference in concerns of the people in different parts of the world. the old man's worries probably centred around his village and family life, yet the astronaut would be worried about extremely different topics such as the Space Race between the USA and Russia and his mission to land on the Moon. 

1(b)

• The text could be the date, place and even the time of the artist's birth, and perhaps he seems to be saying that in the world, at that time, there were two people, his father and the astronaut, and at that time, his father was preoccupied with the birth of his son, yet the astronaut could be in space at that exact moment, or planning his expedition in space. this juxtaposes the different lives of two people who probably come from completely different backgrounds and live in two different worlds even though it is that same earth.
• this could show the difference in class and social hierarchy as well as the difference in the people living in different countries such as USA or Russia (who were major powerhouses) and Malaysia (who was,at that time, not a very developed country)

2.

• whole artwork consists of the figures of two people against a dark background that is nondescript, making the figures stand out. 
• one of the figures is an old Malaysian man, who is extremely skinny and is on the left side of the artwork. He seems to be bald and has many wrinkles and a troubled expression on his face. his mouth is turned down in a frown and his eyes stare solemnly at the viewer. he wears a red and yellow striped sarong, or traditional Malaysian outfit. this is the typical attire of a Malaysian villager. The title suggests that he is the artist's father.
• the other figure, which takes up the right side of the artwork, is wearing an astronaut suit such that we cannot see any defining features of the person in the suit at all. on the lower torso of the astronaut, we can see many objects that are juxtaposed on top of each other, such as a parody of the American dollar bill, with a cartoon-like character where the person's face should be, as wella s technological things such as cameras and other such devices. what is the most unsettling is that the reflection on the helmet of the astronaut's suit shows a sunny day at the countryside, with coconut trees and a mountain in the background, with a red cross in front of it, much like that crosses used to mark targets through a viewer. the fact that the reflection is one of the open countryside when the painting is set in a dark room of sorts seems unsettling, yet that reflected scene could be the place that the artist has typed out in the text: "sungai limau dalam, yen" his birthplace
• the artist has also printed words, in the space between the astronaut and his father. they read:
• place sungai limau dalam, yen
• date 13 march 1936
• time 1300 hours
• and near his father, ricefields & rambutan durian pisang
• near the astronaut, magnificent desolation
• should man fall back from his destiny the mighty surge of his achievement will be lost
• the two figures are in the foreground and seem to be the only objects in the artwork. the artist uses one point perspective as the figures are portrayed from the front, staring at the viewers