Yusoff Abdul Latiff is a retired teacher who paints detailed portraits, intricate Peranakan houses and elaborate landscapes. He has participated in group exhibitions with Singapore Watercolour Society (SWS), Angkatan Pelukis Aneka Daya (APAD) or Association of Artists of Varied Resources, Maya Gallery and Kamal Gallery. He has also contributed his artworks to ‘Passage’, the quarterly newsletter of Friends of the Museum, Singapore.
“Di Tanjong Katong, airnya biru
Di situ tempatnya dara jelita
Duduk sekampong lagikan rindu
Kononya pula nun jauh di mata
This was the nostalgic scene, about 120 years ago, when my paternal grandfather landed in Singapura. He and his dara jelita (beautiful maiden) set up home at Ipoh Lane where my father was born. My father found his dara jelita at Rose Lane where I was born. I had my dara jelita, a girl who went to school in Tanjong Katong. Ipoh Lane and Rose Lane are side roads off Tanjong Katong.”
