Born in 1962 in Singapore, Salleh bin Japar is a conceptual multi-disciplinary artist whose work addresses concerns of identity and society, Muslim values, and globalisation. Salleh came to prominence with the seminal 1988 collaborative exhibition ‘Trimurti’, and in 2001 was a Singapore Pavilion representative at the 49th Venice Biennale.The four works of ‘Becoming I to IV’ were a part of the groundbreaking 1988 exhibition ‘Trimuti’, featuring performances, paintings, sculptures and installations by three young artists: Salleh Japar, S. Chandrasekaran and Goh Ee Choo. ‘Trimurti’ is a Sanskrit word the artists appropriated to define a manifestation of three cosmic forces – creation, preservation and destruction. Salleh’s component was thematically centred on ‘creation’, exploring the act undertaken as an artist and as a Muslim conduit for the supreme creator, God. The four works contain the ancient spiral motif within linear formations, inspired by Salleh’s readings of Pythagorean geometry and Islamic art.
