ALTHOUGH S. Amin Shahab has achieved considerable success as a lyricist
(he collaborated with M. Nasir often and among their hits is Alleycats'
Sekuntum Mawar Merah Sebuah Puisi), in films (he had acted in many, the
latest being Lang Buana) and the arts (he had held several solo
exhibitions), he has never been satisfied with any of his achievements.

"I cannot get satisfied easily. At times, the message that you want to
convey doesn't quite get across the way you would have liked to. So you
just continue," he said.

S. Amin is currently holding an art exhibition called Cermin Mimpi
(Dream Mirror) at the Balai Berita main lobby at 31, Jalan Riong, Kuala
Lumpur.

At a glance, one can see his collection this time around features plenty
of water. Any reason for this?

"Water is around us. In this case, it is sea water that takes centre
stage. I will be going to `earth' in my next project in which I will still
feature water elements but nothing from the sea," S. Amin announced.

Having been told that he would be directing a telemovie titled Helah
Harimau Jadian soon, we asked how he found the time to do all that.

"You have to find the time if you want to do something. Some of these
paintings took one day to complete while there are some, like the Potret
Dalam Diri, which took five years to complete."

Prices for the paintings range from RM700 to RM7,000. When asked if he
had preference for any of his three passions, S. Amin said each was
special in its own way.

"You can get carried away with writing lyrics. By the same token,
painting can have the same effect during which you don't realise time
passes. Film is another story altogether," said S. Amin. The exhibition
ends April 30.