Homecoming King

‘Pago Pago’, a visual dialogue by renowned Malaysian artist Latiff Mohidin, travels across Europe and Southeast Asia, and challenges the dominance of Western modernism in the 1960s. Emmilyn Yeoh speaks to the artist as the exhibition travels home from Paris.

Over a span of six decades, Latiff Mohidin, Malaysia’s most sought-after poet-painter has stood the test of time. In May 2013, his ‘Pago Pago’ series sold for RM612,480 at Christie’s Asian 20th Century Art auction, a record price that further sealed the significance of Malaysian art on the global map. Mohidin’s work has remained central to Malaysian art ever since, but his defining moment was in February earlier this year, when Mohidin had the singular honour of being the first Southeast Asian to have a dedicated solo exhibition at Centre Pompidou in Paris. Now, the ‘Pago Pago’ series, a compilation of the many symbolic forms of Southeast Asia, has journeyed from Europe back to Malaysia, opening new dialogues with young artists and pushing boundaries.

How momentous is it for you as a Malaysian to be the first Southeast Asian artist to have a solo exhibition in an institution like Centre Pompidou?