This is a striking portrait of the great scholar, writer and translator Zainal Abidin bin Ahmad, more popularly known as Za’aba, renowned for modernizing the classical Malay language and establishing grammatical rules through his grammar book series “Pelita Bahasa”.
Zakir Amir Mohd Derus, also known as "Zorro," was born in 1967 in Kampung Renal, Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan. Despite having no formal art education, he has become a versatile artist, excelling in portrait and landscape painting, sculpture, music, and more. Zakir Amir is a member of Persatuan Seni Rupa Malaysia (PeRUPA) and was Vice President of Persatuan Pelukis Negeri Sembilan.
He has participated in numerous exhibitions since 1998. Some of his earliest group shows were “Pesta Kraf Seremban” (Seremban Craft Festival) (1998), “Formula I Exhibition” (1999), Artist Bazaar 2000 Jalan Conlay (2000), and an exhibition held in conjunction with the First General Meeting of the Negeri Sembilan Painters Association at Istana Hinggap, Seremban (2000). More recent exhibitions include “Royal Exhibition of Seri Menanti” (2009), “Minda Merdeka”, Admin office of National Visual Arts Development Board (LPSVN) (2015), “Suara Alam”, Balai Seni Lukis Melaka (2018), and “Espresi Anak Negeri” (2019), Teratak Zaaba Museum, Negeri Sembilan, which was jointly organised by Persatuan Pelukis Negeri Sembilan and Lembaga Muzium Negeri Sembilan.
