This painting captures a hotel in Kuantan, Malaysia, which Noor Mahnun Anum encountered soon after relocating to the area. Struck by its distinct structure and atmospheric presence—especially in the dim light of twilight—Anum saw the building as inherently “painterly.” The work reflects her ongoing practice of attentive observation, where everyday surroundings are documented through sketches and visual notes that later inform her compositions. In this piece, architectural form becomes a quiet study in mood, place, and the subtle drama of light.

Grand Hotel is more than a depiction of a building—it is a contemplative study of time, memory, and place. The structure, rendered with layered geometry and a muted palette, exudes both subtle monumentality and nostalgic resonance. Anum contrasts the hotel’s grandiose name with its understated, perhaps faded reality, highlighting her recurring fascination with the dissonance between language and object, and the layered meanings that emerge from this gap. The painting exemplifies her disciplined process of observing, sketching, and slowly distilling visual material into imagery that is both poetic and reflective. Through this work, Anum invites viewers to find quiet significance in overlooked spaces, where atmosphere and emotion linger just beneath the surface.