This 1988 work has the distinction of being Yusof Ghani’s ‘Black Tari’, although he had done a six-panel monochromatic Tari in 1991 where the blackness was more diffused and less cohesive. This is a configuration of crowded figures in various postures and gestures enunciated by this whitish curvilinear lines. It is from his first series of Tari that culminated in a solo at Galeri Citra, Kuala Lumpur, in 1989. The act of Black Paintings seems a sort of rites of passage for artists. Bayu Utomo Radjikin had his Kau Setuju atau Seteru (2008) and Jolly Koh’s Untitled (2001) as did Kazimir Malevich, and there is Francisco Goya’s famous suit of 14 ghoulish ‘Black’ paintings in the Prado Museum in Madrid. Of Yusof Ghani’s Tari, the great collector Zain Azahari noted: “What gives Yusof Ghani’s paintings meaning is no longer its subject (what it represents) but its form, inner structure, rhythm and composition, and constituent colours.” Yusof Ghani is one rare Malay artist who bypassed the Mara Institute of Technology (ITM) training mill. He was working in art-related jobs for 10 years before he won a scholarship to study at the George Mason University in Virgina (BFA, 1981, when he was aged 31) and the Catholic University in Washington DC (MFA, 1983), both in the United States. On his return, he lectured at ITM. He is also known for his organising the Shah Alam Biennale at his Tapak Gallery in 2016, and made his London debut with his Segerak VI at the Asia House in April 2017. Curate Henry Butcher with partners Galeri Prima and Pinkguy Gallery organised Segerak VIII: Utopia, the final edition of Segerak series, in August 2019. His other series are Protest, Tari, Topeng, Wayang, Hijau, Biring, Wajah, Ombak and Kuda.