Serangga @ Sasana Kijang

A building in the middle of the original KL green lung, a simple well-lit space.  Just the right atmosphere to have an exhibition for Malaysia's national treasure Latiff Mohidin, now famous for the wrong reason due to  the recent popularity of art auctions.

Serangga 25 (2012)

The praying mantis on the leaflet was an eye-catcher, along with the typeface for the exhibition.  But nothing prepared me for the textural delights on display, where handmade Tibetan paper played a big part to create the raw but natural aesthetic.  The colours and shapes are entirely Latiff's, but the paper brought out a depth in drawing, not unlike a wise sage who decided to draw a lifetime of observation on a rock wall in a cave.

Serangga 18 (2012)

'Serangga 9' looks like a south east Asian design where Bali meets wayang kulit, but a longer gaze reminded me of a kampong scenario - yellow light emitting from the house porch behind, long shadows drawn out in front, a half-lit torchlight in hand, squinting to catch a glimpse of those pesky creatures hiding in the bushes. 'Serangga 18' on the other hand is an obvious magnified body of an insect, but the rough lines and colour strokes reminded me of God's gift of life, and not the pests which us city folk tend to wave away as a first reaction.

Serangga 9 (2012)

'Serangga 25' will easily remind anyone about Pago-pago, and there were some obvious motives of bug-eyes, legs, and colours of dread to invoke a shallow fear.  But the best works in this exhibition are the understated pieces, where a moment of reflection is necessary - if God created insects before Man, and insects have lived longer than Man, what does that say about us?

Serangga 3 (2012)