Kuala Lumpur, Apr. 13 : Mahatma Gandhi, US President Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden have shared space on a painting by Malaysia's contemporary artist Ahmad Fuad Osman.

The acrylic piece entitled "To Whom It May Concern" features the spectral faces of the stark philosophical opposites, with others such as Mahatma Gandhi, Adolf Hitler, Albert Einstein, Benito Mussolini, Martin Luther King and Joseph Stalin, surrounded by a crowd who are video recording them.

On the camera screens appears the face of Obama, the New Straits Times reports.

Osman, who juxtaposed history and the present, says: "He (Obama) is the face of hope and the future. Even halfway around the world, here in Malaysia, Obama fever is contagious," said the 40-year-old artist and self-confessed Obama fan.

Addressing at a press conference to launch the Matahati ke Matadunia exhibition at Galeri Chandan in Bukit Damansara, Osman said his latest work was a departure from his earlier paintings, which usually depict deep personal conflicts or struggles other than war.

He and four course-mates at Universiti Teknologi Mara -- Ahmad Shukri Mohamed, Bayu Utomo Radjikin, Hamir Soib and Masnoor Ramli Mahmud -- formed the Matahati art group in 1989.

The heavy weights of the local art circle are renowned for their postmodern pieces depicting Malaysian culture intertwined with elements of war and economic recession.

The exhibition, which will tour the United States and Europe for the next three years, features 20 works by the five artists.

Their works are expected to sell for 15,000 dollars to 20,000 dollars. (ANI)