Who would have thought that Khalil Ibrahim was inspired to work on the Mask theme as early as 1969 after he returned home? The mask represents deception and duplicity and other artists like Yusof Ghani had also used the metaphor. Done in his novel abstraction style, Khalil's Topeng blends layers of irregular shapes in a psychological conundrum. It exudes a veneer of calm but with an uncanny difference. Distracting are the oblong tube-like stanchions off right, the top one in deep purple and the bottom half in deep blue. Khalil, then though 35, was still naive having lived in rural areas in Kelantan and Pahang before being propelled into the St. Martin's art citadel in London. Back on home soil, he revived his abstract play developed when he was in London, making an 'offshoot' of beguiling maturity. As this is numbered 5, there must have been more on the Mask theme. Khalil Ibrahim, by dint of his natural painting talent, was sent to London, to study art at the St. Martin's School of Art, before the establishment of the Mara Institute of Technology. When he returned home in September 1966, he was not bound by any contractual obligations and he chose to become a fulltime artist. In 1970, he had a double solo at Frank Sullivan's Samat Art Gallery, and the rest was history. He co-founded the Malaysian Watercolour Society and featured in its painting expeditions in Sweden and India. He was the first Malaysian artist to have a solo in Indonesia.