Sharifah made a dramatic departure from her vibrant colour palette upon her return from Jordan in 1990, where she was inspired by the rock formations in Petra. Her astute matching of modeling paste with her usual acrylic to give that raw textural edge did wonders in both Touch The Earth exhibitions, the first at the Galeri Maybank in 1992 and the next at GaleriCitra in 1996. Using a palette knife to mix the paste to ‘dull’ the colours for a more ‘antique’ feel, Sharifah applied the mixture thickly and unevenly for a highly textured work.