Latiff Mohidin: Lines To Form

At 85, Malaysian modernist artist Latiff Mohidin is forging ahead into a new medium and unveiling his first cast bronze sculpture.

Burung 1 (Bird 1) was first made in 1967 at a smaller scale in ciment fondu and is now reborn as a 1.8m-tall bronze sculpture that commands the room’s attention. The 2026 work, which bears the same name, is scaled from the original ciment fondu sculpture and therefore visibly bears the intimate fingerprints of the artist. Latiff’s abstraction of the bird is here almost child-like, resembling two cocked fingers and an open palm.

The bronze work belongs to Latiff’s iconic Pago Pago series, a term he coined in the 1950s that blends the words “pagoda” and “pagar pagar”, which refers to the distinctive architectural feature of Minangkabau houses. It is realised in collaboration with Yogya Art Lab, Gajah Gallery’s foundry arm based in Yogyakarta which has pushed artists like Suzann Victor, Jane Lee and Han Sai Por to work in new materials or at larger scale.

Curated by Syed Muhammad Hafiz of Kuala Lumpur-based LM Studio, which is devoted to promoting Latiff’s legacy, the bronze work is presented alongside paper works. There are wetlands, forests, peat swamps and mangroves – which, seen together, evokes the stunning breadth of tropical forms.

Where: Gajah Gallery Singapore, Tanjong Pagar Distripark, #03-04, 39 Keppel RoadMRT: CantonmentWhen: Till September 20; Mondays to Fridays, 11am to 7pm; weekends and public holidays, 12pm to 6pmAdmission: FreeInfo: