Two Standing Figures

Latiff Mohidin (1941), born in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia completed his primary education in Singapore. While in Singapore, his precocity in understanding paintings at an early age, earned him the nickname, �'Wonder Boy'�. From 1960 to 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 a series of compelling 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 poetry. A year to the culmination of the Pago-Pago series, �'Two Standing Figures' stands as the controversial and critical painting within this series. The pair of figures is seemingly undergoing radical transformation, entwining themselves and leaning towards a fluid, organic and assymetrical dynamism. A composite of fiery colours and radiant forms that have been brought together, '�Two Standing Figures'� represents a powerful metaphor celebrating nature�'s exuberance and vitality, although its controversy lies in the sexual connotation analysed by Malaysian art critic, Redza Piyadasa.