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LITERATURE
Pago-Pago to Gelombang: 40 Years of Latiff Mohidin (Singapore Art Museum)
L.I.N.E. Latiff Mohidin From Point To Point (1973, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kuala Lumpur)

This is a Gelombang, noted for its flurry of staccato strokes done in broad brushes, which looks more like the later more ruminative series, Rimba. It is aptly named Gelombang Bumi, meaning movements of the earth. A relatively rare large work of the famed artist, it was acquired in a solo exhibition at the MAS Building in Kuala Lumpur 1989, in between two Gelombang exhibitions in 1988 and 1990 respectively. Originally acquired by a Singaporean collector, the new-owner-to-be soon found many logistics challenges in bringing the work back to his country. The current owner, a Malaysian corporate figure and avid collector, who had been eyeing the work but lost out in its initial acquisition was quick in stepping back onto the scene and the work has been gracing his home in Bukit Tunku ever since.

Dubbed the “wonder boy” at a young age of 11 and renown for his Pago-Pago series, Latiff’s works are highly sought after and very hard to come by. It will probably be a long time before another Latiff’s painting of this size is released onto the market again.