Voyage is not just about travelling, a journey, by air or sea. From Latiff Mohidin’s biographical notes, Voyage also denotes a visit to certain destinations such as in Lembah Khorasan (2005), and Memory of Huainan (2005), or an homage to great literary figures like in Voyage Baudelaire (2004) and Voyage Rimbaud (2004). Voyage was launched at Galeri Petronas, Kuala Lumpur, in 2007. The series sees Latiff’s return to gestural expressions like his Gelombang Series, though not as energetic or vigorous.
With the landmark Pago-Pago (1960-1969) exhibition at the prestigious Centre Pompidou in Paris on Feb 28-May 28, 2018, Latiff Mohidin’s stature in world art is never in doubt. It was a tribute by the National Gallery Singapore to organise it under its Reframing Modernism vehicle. Public is given the opportunity to view the Pago-Pago works at Ilham Gallery, Kuala Lumpur (the exhibition runs until December 2018).
Regarded as a national treasure, Latiff has excelled himself admirably in paint, prints, letters (poetry) and bronze (sculpture). His Retrospective, Latiff Mohidin 60 Years, at the National Art Gallery in 2012-2013 is a rare second accorded to any artist. In 2016, Latiff unveiled his Modern Sculptures done between 2007 and 2015 at The Edge Galerie, Kuala Lumpur. Latiff’s art studies were diverse: Hochschule fur Bildende Kunste, Berlin; Atelier la Courier, Paris; and Pratt Institute, New York. He won 2nd Prize (Graphic) in the Salon Malaysia in 1968. He is a literary giant, having won the SEA Write Award in Bangkok in 1984, the National Literary Award in 1984 and 1986, and the Malaysian Government literary prize from 1972-1976. He was a Creative Fellow at Universiti Sains Malaysia (1977) and a guest writer at the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (1988).