LOT 3
Abdul Latiff Mohidin
B. N. Sembilan, 1941
Madame L Chair (Pago-Pago Series), 1969
Inscribed “Paris 69 Madame L Chair” on lower left
Signed and dated “AL 69” on lower right
Ink on paper
17 x 11.5 cm
Provenance Private Collection, Kuala Lumpur
Illustrated on page 217 of “Pago-Pago to Gelombang: 40 Years of Latiff Mohidin” exhibition book
Published in 1994 by Singapore Art Museum
RM 17,000 – RM 22,000
“Let us say I begin from intuition. Something that has not acquired a form and cannot yet be argued, explained; something that does not yet have logic or a rational basis … A shadow in the mind or a motion in the heart, a pulse of contemplation as yet unnamed … Only a deep and natural heart-beat.” – Latiff Mohidin
If one looks closely at Latiff’s work, one may see a bamboo shoot, a barnacle, a hill or a leaf – motifs of Nature, his muse – all amalgamated with man-made objects that have a similar shape such as the balconies of stupas-pagodas and such. In essence, the Pago-Pago series encapsulates Southeast Asia at its best.
Born in 1941, Latiff started painting at an early age and by 10 he was holding his first exhibition at Kota Raja Malay School in Singapore, and was dubbed in the local press as the “boy wonder”. He is as well-known a poet as an artist as well. He was trained in art at Hochschule fur Bildende Kunste in Germany, Atelier La Courriere in France and Pratt Graphic Centre in America. Among the honours and awards he has received are the Salon Malaysia’s 1968 second prize in Graphic Design and the Malaysian Literary Awards for four years in a row, the National Literary Award in 1984 and 1986 and the Southeast Asian Writers Award in 1984 for writing.