Latiff Mohidin, born in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia in 1941 completed his primary education in Singapore. While in Singapore, at an early age, Latiff’s precocity in understanding paintings earned him the nickname, ‘Wonder Boy’. From 1960-1964, Latiff studied art at Hochschule fur Bildende Kunste in Berlin, Germany and did brief residencies in Paris and New York. Inspired by his exploration of Southeast Asia in 1964, Latiff has since produced compelling series of artworks – the result of a synthesis between his European experience and the rediscovery of his homeland. He is also a poet who has published several volumes of poetryThe Gelombang series is known for Latiff’s magnification of nature, examining the anatomy of plant life and its movement – a studious investigation Latiff had practised while producing the Pago-Pago series. ‘Gelombang (1)’ is a sketch which captures the essence of a romanticized symbol being engaged with the immense force of nature. The predominant strokes of black graphite attempt to enshroud the luminosity of a flower in solitude. It seems that the restraints of a conventional representation of nature have been shaken off by Latiff’s resurgence of Abstract Expressionism.
