Travel inspires Yusof Ghani to depict, in swirling forms, the emotive make-up of the human in his life journey. Segerak III, the latest instalment in the artist’s Segerak series, moves into the realm of the stark. LOKE POH LIN writes.

FLAMBOYANCE and restraint. Darkness and light. Movement and stillness. These opposites sit comfortably in Yusof Ghani’s paintings which are currently on show at Wei-Ling Gallery, Kuala Lumpur. Segerak III showcases 23 of the artist’s works, marking a progression from his previous Segerak I & II.

Gallerist Lim Wei-Ling introduces the Segerak III collection with these words: “Yusof Ghani’s fascination with the human form has seen him move from his first series, Siri Tari (1984 -1991), where he combined abstract expressionism with figuration to making some strong socio-political statements on humanitarian issues to Segerak (2003), which once again explores the figure, but this time without the angst involved.”

It’s true. Segerak III is quite a departure from his earlier work. The palette is restrained, mostly limited to blacks, whites and browns. However, there is a huge surge of energy evident in the brushstrokes — expansive, expressive. In contrast, the chalk work is more introspective; calculated, and sometimes searching.

“The use of alternative materials such as bitumen, charcoal and chalk layered on various types of linen and polyester gives this series a freshness that sets it apart from its predecessors,” noted Lim.

For this interview, Yusof bounces into the gallery with mother and wife in tow, extending his hand in greeting. Bubbly and liable to dissolve into fits of laughter, he was game to be bullied into climbing up and down the gallery for our photographer.

QUESTION: Figures play a big, big role in your work and Segerak III sees your paintings move to a sublimation of sorts, using less colour. Is there a reason for this?

ANSWER: First, can I tell you a bit of the history behind Segerak? It’s a continuation from Tari.

Tari and the rest are about social statements — about society, the environment, and myself as a man. Anything goes. Most of my work revolves around humanistic issues, except for Hijau where I detached myself from the social issues, and went into Nature. It was a departure from the protest and social statements.

Tari is about imbalance, the contrast between rich and poor; Topeng is about role play in society, where we wear masks as we go about our lives; Wayang is a continuity of Topeng. Sometimes we are actors, sometimes we’re the audience, observing, watching.

Then I moved back to Segerak. While Tari is the overall title of a collection, in Segerak each picture has its own title. The paintings talk about human activity, in all its forms.

Q: I was about to ask you about the titles for the paintings. Who named them?

A: The artist — me! The titles themselves indicate aggression, violence, urban, dark energies: Victims, Snipers, Bodyguard, Strangers. In many ways, they are metaphors for life. Segerak is a statement to say that what you see is universal. The desire and the grief, they’re universal.

Q: What is your inspiration for this collection?

A: Travel, travel, travel. When I travel, the visual elements stick in my mind. I seldom bring a camera. My eyes capture the images. When I come back home, they remain with me. Then I can share those experiences through my paintings. I will be travelling from Lahore to Delhi for 26 hours on the train and I will be sketching away!

Q: Do you feel that this collection is a distinct departure from Segerak I and II? If yes, what are the characteristics of that departure?

A: Segerak I is angry, with a lot of reds. In Segerak II, I wanted to work on space. On big pieces showing different kinds of activity. I did seven pieces. Big pieces.

The palette is limited in Segerak III. And there is ambiguous space. I purposely limited my colours to see what happens.

Q: How do you work? In fits and starts or consistently? Day or night? Systematically, or do you flit from one painting to the other?

A: Emotion and mood is very important. When I feel like painting, I paint. Sometimes it’s early in the morning, 6.30am or 7am. Sometimes it grabs me late at night, and I can work all night till 5am!

Sometimes no ideas come. So I go watch TV, read the newspaper, drive around in the car just to get my mind working.

Sometimes I look at a blank canvas for hours. When it comes, it comes. I visualise the end result and then I work towards achieving that which I have in my mind’s eye. Then the element of chance sets in. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t.

Another thing about painting: You must know when to stop. You must have a feel for when the painting is complete. This is very important. Even though it may look empty to an onlooker, it’s what I see as finished.

I’ll tell you two things about painting. One, it’s addictive. Second, it’s like playing tennis. It’s physical and enjoyable. It’s magic. You get to run around and dance! I enjoy myself when I’m painting.

I was a graphic artist for 12 years; it was restrictive. You will always have to please your client. You say use this, your client will say no, use that instead. When I went into fine arts — the freedom! I can make my own choices now, paint when I like. Choose the colours I like and the medium. And my customers will then decide if they like my work or not.

The interview is over. The man has to go. Before he does though, Yusof conspiratorially whispers, “I’m working on something new, a combination of everything — Tari, Topeng, Wayang, Segerak. I’ve done something already — it’s started!”

There’s no stopping the man, the very personification of Energy as he spins out of the room.

Segerak III will be on show at Wei-Ling Gallery. (8 Jalan Scott, Brickfields, 50470 Kuala Lumpur) until tomorrow. Tel: 2260-1106, www.townhouse-gallery.com.