Great Migration, the first solo exhibition by Malaysian artist Najib Bamadhaj. Although Great Migration marks Najib Bamadhaj’s first solo exhibition, many will already recognise the young artist’s distinctive style among the paintings here. With Great Migration, Najib returns to TAKSU with a series that continues the themes and motifs from Endangered. However, these new paintings also speak of an artist with a maturing style, eye for experimentation and growing self-awareness. Once again, wild animal motifs prevail, but now the focus has shifted from static depictions of mother and child to paintings of larger groups in movement. Previously muted palettes have also been enlivened with vivid blocks of colour: a red zebra leaps from splashes of blue water; a purple elephant calf huddles by his mother’s luminous side. In the Endangered series, text was often overlaid on the paintings to emphasise the vulnerability of his subject. Phrases such as “There’s no place like home” carried an iro
