There is something familiar about Yusof Ghani’s Topeng, whether first or second. This 1998 Siri Sukandi II is from the first. The nose is often large and elongated, reminiscent of Pablo Picasso’s Boisgeloup sculptures. Otherwise, it’s plain primitive, raw and mystical from the tribal masks Yusof Ghani saw in museums, longhouses and antique shops in his two different trips to Sarawak in 1988 and 1991, and was fascinated by the Kenyah and Kayan mask (hudoq) ritual. A trip to South Africa with her repertoire of more grotesque masks adds to his visual research. There is also those aboriginal masks of Mahmeri (Carey Island) and the Jah Hut (Pahang). Masks are modes of deception and concealment of one’s identity. They are also ritualistic with dark powers but can be talismanic, too. The danger is that if one wears a masks often and long enough, it becomes the skin, and no longer the second skin. The highest price fetched for a Topeng Series in the Henry Butcher auction is RM90,176 premium for his Untang Anting (192cm x 155cm, 1995) in the October 2015 auction. Yusof Ghani worked as an artist-illustrator at the Agriculture Ministry (1967), instructor in the Fisheries Institute, Penang (1971) and a graphic artist at Radio-Television Malaysia (1977) before he got a scholarship to obtain his BFA at the George Mason University in the United States (1981), and MFA at the Catholic University in Washington, USA (1983). On his return, he lectured at the Universiti ITM with the rank of Associate Professor. But he is better known for his series of paintings – Tari, Topeng, Wayang, Hijau, Segerak, Biring, Wajah and Ombak. His Tapak gallery and studio organised the Shah Alam Biennale involving artists from 15 countries on Sept 21-Oct 1, 2016. In April 3-7, 2017, Yusof Ghani made his London debut with an exhibition, Segerak VI – Transcendent Figures, at the Asia House.