A sturdy phalanx of hardwood sago palms called rumbia in double tier parallels the architectonic flourish of Indo-Chinese (Angkor Wat in Cambodia) and Thai stupas and pagodas. It is also reminiscent of the architecture of Latiff Mohidin's Minangkabau roots. Sago is a starchy staple in poorer communities, while its leaves and branches are used for roofing and interiors. The rumbia is reminescent of Latiff's childhood in Lenggeng in Negeri Sembilan. This drawing is from Latiff's brilliant Pago-Pago natural and man-made synthesis and phenomenon (1960-1969) that the National Gallery Singapore selflessly promoted on the world stage of the prestigious Centre Pompidou in Paris in 2018. Though a drawing, Latiff sees it as a bona-fide painting: "A sketch is not really to catch the floating moment, but the atmosphere. Not only what is there but also what isn't there," he had written in his book, Journey To Wetlands, And Beyond (Singapore Art Museum, May 2009). Painter, printmaker, philosopher, poet, sculptor, writer par excellence in Bahasa Malaysia, English and German, Latiff Mohidin is a colossus in Southeast Asian arts. Most celebrated for his Pago-Pago series, a regional synthesis of history, natural landscape and man-made architectural totems. Latiff had a major Retrospective at the National Art Gallery in December 2012 to June 2013, his second. He became a regional prince of artists when his landmark Pago-Pago (1960-1969) series was chosen for the inaugural exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in 2018. He won 2nd Prize (Graphics) in the 1968 Salon Malaysia. In literature, he won the SEA Write Award twice (1984 and 1986) and the Malaysian Literary Awards from 1972 to 1976, and he was also appointed Guest Writer at Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka in 1988. Studies at the Hochschule fur Bildende Kunst in West Berlin, the Pratt Institute in New York, and Atelier Lacouriere-Frelaut in Paris made him what he is today.