The weather was frigid in Paris, thanks to what many dubbed “the Beast from the East”: cold eastern winds blowing from Siberia into Europe, bringing snowstorms and an unexpected plummet in temperature. At the fifth level of the Centre Pompidou museum, however, the walls were almost glowing with warmth, thanks to the paintings of Latiff Mohidin – treasured veteran Malaysian artist and the first South-East Asian to be featured in the esteemed Parisian art venue.

The warmest presence, perhaps, was the 77-year-old Pak Latiff himself, as he is fondly known. He had flown in from Penang, where he is currently based, for the opening of the exhibition on Feb 28, and not even the frosty weather could dim his joy. Beaming at the honour of being featured, he said it was an “amazing experience”.