LOT 87
ABDUL LATIFF MOHIDIN
B. N. Sembilan, 1941
Dark Bakau, 1999
Signed and dated “Latiff 99” on lower left
Oil on canvas
122 x 122 cm
Provenance Private Collection, Kuala Lumpur
RM 200,000 – RM 320,000
The mangrove forest is an important part of the ecosystem. They are generally found along sheltered coasts where they grow abundantly in saline soil and brackish water subject to periodic fresh- and salt-water inundation. Despite its smelly reputation, a mangrove forest is a very dynamic and highly productive ecosystem. It not only plays multiple ecological functions essential to its surrounding habitats, but is also an important resource for coastal communities.
Dark Bakau, 1999 by Latiff Mohidin is the artist’s representation of the mangrove forest. The strokes resemble the stilt roots that branch out and loop off the trunk.
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 well-known as a poet 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.