This is the most unusual of Yusof Ghani’s Topeng Series, coming at the tailend of the first phase, or on the cusp of the second phase, in which the works get invariably larger. Though the mask is a common metaphor of hypocrisy, concealment and deception, Yusof Ghani’s masks also draw inferences from its talismanic and curative properties. The unusual part of this is that the image is constricted into the odd tree trunk shape in the centre as it tapers a little towards the left. All around is a black expanse, which is not to propel the image forward. A scowling face can be made out lodged at the bottom half. Yusof Ghani’s two-phase Topeng is inspired and influenced by two different trips, the first to Sarawak, in 1988 and 1991, especially of the Kenyah and Kayan mask (hudoq) ritual; while the other is after his South African trip with the more aggressive visage from the numerous mythical tribes.