Jaafar Latiff was an abstract painter distinguished for his inventive approach in the batik medium. His artistic practice was concurrent with his lifelong role as an educator. In the mid-1980s onwards, after a series of solo and group exhibitions of his batik paintings, Jaafar began to turn to acrylic as a medium of choice. He felt that traditional batik method took too long, and he was interested in exploring the relationship between fabric dye and acrylic paint. This painting is from the Vision series, which came in a succession with other paintings in acrylic such as Transcendental, Phenomenon, Tension, Opera, Landscape. According to a review by T.K. Sabapathy during the 1980s, movement became an abiding obsession in Jaafar’s work. Paintings from the Vision series mirrored the frenetic energy and bright lights of a rapidly modernising Singapore.
