This painting is part of the series Tsunami 2004–2005, Malaysian artist Nirmala Dutt’s last major series of works before she suffered a debilitating stroke. The series, comprising over 30 paintings, was created in response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. At the time, Nirmala forced herself to watch news reports on the tsunami and its aftermath, despite her sensitive constitution. Day after day, she witnessed  the devastation wrought across Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand. 

Prior to this, Nirmala had spent most of her career as a vocal critic of man-made horrors such as the Vietnam War, South Africa’s apartheid regime, and the persecution of indigenous groups in her own country. The Indian Ocean tsunami opened up a new cosmos of human suffering, forcing her to reckon with the sheer senselessness and indifference of nature. This tumult is reflected in her paintings, which feature great swells of ashen waves crashing beneath a placid sky. Foregoing a more natural shade of sky blue, she chose instead a deep, brooding cerulean for the background of the paintings. In the Tsunami series, the provocative nature of Nirmala’s previous works gives way to a more philosophical meditation on tragedy and suffering, shot through with the emotional force of her empathy.