Image size: 26 x 36 cm
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 Bukhara series stems from Latiff’s brief trip to Bukhara, a province in Uzbekistan renown for its historical and majestic architecture. ‘Bukhara (1)’ is an outdoor sketch of what seems to be arches from a madrasah or mosque captured very quickly. The diluted black, blue and yellow hues, executed in swift strokes of the brush affirm Latiff’s way of capturing and soaking in the environment. Assuming the role of a wanderer and an impressionist, he enters the realm of Bukhara’s architecture and paints them according to its rhythms.
