Iskandar Jalil

Iskandar Jalil (born 5 January 1940) is a Singapore ceramist. He was awarded the Cultural Medallion for Visual Arts in 1988.

Early works Contrary to the famous belief, Iskandar's early works was first made in the teacher training college instead of Japan. The artist describes his early works as "crude but honest works. They show no philosophy. I didn't think that much about color or ideas when I made them. The philosophy and aesthetics come in later."

Career Iskandar grew up at Kampong Chantek at Bukit Timah and studied at Victoria School. He had trained and worked initially as a maths and science teacher.

Iskandar was given a Colombo Plan scholarship in 1966 to study textile printing and weaving in India. In 1973, he was awarded a second Colombo Plan scholarship to study ceramic engineering in Japan.

Some of his larger works can be seen in public places like the MRT wall mural in Tanjong Pagar MRT station (1988), and the wall mural in Changi Airport Terminal Two (1990). His works are also displayed at the Istana.

In 2009, Iskandar was awarded the Berita Harian Achiever Award given by Berita Harian.

In August 2014, Iskandar received the Japanese Foreign Minister's Commendation award for his contribution to the promotion of Japanese culture in Singapore. Over the last two decades, he has taken 200 disciples to Japan to nurture their interest in ceramic art and given them a chance to experience Japanese culture.

In 2015, Iskandar was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun (Gold Rays with Rosette) from the Emperor of Japan, "in recognition of his significant contributions towards the cultural exchange and mutual understanding through the pottery between Japan and Singapore"

In September 2014, Iskandar revealed that he was diagnosed with Stage 4 prostate cancer since the beginning of the year.

Awards 1977: Special Award, the National Day Art Exhibition 1988: Cultural Medallion for Visual Arts 1994: Fellow, Centre for the Arts, National University of Singapore 1998: Pingat Apad, Angkatan Pelukis Aneka Daya 2002: Berita Harian Achiever of the Year award 2014: Japanese Foreign Minister's Commendation Award 2015: Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, from the Emperor of Japan