In his 1997 exhibition Pictures with a Past, Askandar Unglehrt—a self-taught artist and long-time academic at Universiti Sains Malaysia—presented a satirical critique of the consumerist impulses defining the late 1990s. The show centered on Unglehrt’s “unorthodox visions,” created by overpainting and metamorphosing torn-out magazine advertisements and commercial prints. By intervening in these mass-media artifacts, Unglehrt transformed ephemeral debris into a site for philosophical inquiry, juxtaposing the “everlasting pursuits” of classical art with the “passing fancies” of contemporary pop culture.