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Yusof Ghani, born in 1950 in Johor, is a Malaysian painter, sculptor, writer, professor and curator and an art collector himself. His career spans over three decades which has produced a very diverse series of artworks dealing with Southeast Asian motifs with an Abstract Expressionist approach. His works blend painting and drawing into a visual entity pleasing to the eye of its beholder. During Yusof’s master’s programme in Catholic University, Washington DC, he had to produce a series of cultural paintings for his thesis. This was when he turned to his roots and found a dance dubbed ‘mak yong’ that inspired his thesis. The ‘mak yong’ dance is a dance-drama performed by women for the royal court. It was deemed as a subtle message of the people to the king. Enthused by the ‘mak yong’, the Tari series was born and became his artistic platform for social commentaries such as the imbalance in Malaysian society, between the rich and poor as well as the powerful and the powerless. Initially, Yusof’s Tari series was somewhat a literal interpretation of women dancing, subsequently progressing into an expressionistic nature, particularly the American expressionism. Even though he uses figures as his reference, it slowly developed into linear strokes and became very ambiguous. The Siri Tari portrays the movements and lines of people in subtle yet vibrant hues that is visually appealing. It tells a story of breaking out of conformity and freedom of movement reflecting the artist’s own free spirit.