Artist Conversation with Latiff Mohidin and Curator Khai Hori on the LANGKAWI Series (1976-1980), DISINI Festival 2018, From the Studio Series.

CURATED BY KHAIRUDDIN HORI

Exhibition Dates: 23 June - 22 July 2018
Artist Talk: Saturday, 23 June 2018, 15:30 - 17:00
Exhibition Opening: Saturday, 23 June 2018, 17:00 - 19:00

After delivering the groundbreaking Pago-Pago (1964 - 1969) and Mindscape (1973 - 1974) series that exhilarated the Malaysian art scene, Latiff Mohidin re-emerged a couple of years later with Langkawi. Inspired by his time in meditation at the seaside, these ‘sculptural paintings’ are named after the western Malaysian archipelago comprising 99 islands on the Straits of Malacca that is well-known for its mythical tales and landscapes.

Unlike the commanding brush strokes and fluidity of Pago-Pago and Mindscape, Langkawi is reserved, calculated and meticulously composed. Each is graphic in design and evoke symbolic implications suggestive of Islamic domes, rafts, battle shields, wall plaques, windows and portals to sacred places. Langkawi, of course, did not emerge without genealogy. In a process that spanned more than a decade, evident motifs - particularly the roofed triangulation, capsule, domes and stupa-like shapes - could be traced to both Pago-Pago and Mindscape. Its palette and character has been described relative to folk cultures and architecture from the Malay Archipelago. Through mastery in painting and carpentry, the sculptural forms of Langkawi engage viewers to step around and explore their protruding surfaces and distinctive outlines. And, amidst their quietness and mindfulness, Langkawi affords viewers pockets for respite and meditation - just like Latiff himself did to take a pause from canvas painting, in exchange for an alternate dimension.

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