Lot 127
YUSOF GHANI
b. Johor, 1950
TOPENG SERIES, 1994
Signed and dated on the reverse
Oil on canvas
95cm x 69cm
PROVENANCE
Private collection, Kuala Lumpur.
ESTIMATE RM 22,000 - 37,000 |
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.
Yusof Ghani started out doing Art-related jobs for 10 years without formal education. He was artist-illustrator at the Agriculture Ministry (1967), instructor in the Fisheries Institute, Penang (1971) and a graphic artist at Radio-Television Malaysia (1977). Then he got a scholarship to study for 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 unleashed some of the most memorable art series: Tari, Topeng, Wayang, Hijau, Segerak, Biring, Wajah and Ombak. He singlehandedly organised the Shah Alam Biennale involving artists from 15 countries on Sept 21-Oct 1, 2016. Yusof Ghani made his London foray with an exhibition, Segerak VI – Transcendent Figures, at the Asia House, on April 3-7, 2017. |