This is an early Segerak series, even a transitional incipient work, which saw a sentimental return to figurations for Yusof Ghani after excursions into Topeng, Wayang and Hijau. Configurations made by charcoal and enhanced for a semblance of movement and direction, insinuate into a receptive painted surface to chart new narratives about ventures and conflicts, the personal as well as the public. Quoting Yusof Ghani in his essay, Utopia – An Artist’s Rendition of the Ideal World (Yusof Ghani: Segerak VIII Utopia), Prof. Dr. Habibah Ashari wrote: “Segerak has allowed him to explore the human figure as a symbol of life, which he then transforms into abstract statements to depict humanity’s contrasting realities of struggle and victory, aggression and celebration, realism and fantasy.” Yusof Ghani is a late-starter in art, getting formal education first at the George Mason University in Virginia (BFA, 1981) and then the Catholic University in Washington DC (MFA, 1983) without having to go through the usual ITM (Mara Institute of Technology), although he later taught there. Despite having work in art-related jobs for 10 years previously, he did not have formal art education. He has made a huge impact from the various series of his paintings: Tari, Topeng, Wayang, Hijau, Segerak, Biring, Wajah and Ombak. Yusof also organised the Shah Alam Biennale.