Painting comes naturally for Indonesian
BECOMING an artist was the natural thing to do for Yaksa Agus as he grew up surrounded by artists and their artworks.
When young, he would spend hours watching and observing these artists in his village in Bantul Yogyakarta and he was very fascinated by them.
He used a brush to paint first before picking up the pencil to write the alphabets.
Unlike those who had to persuade their parents to let them become artists, Yaksa’s intention received positive response from his family.
“Most of my family members, including my parents, are into performing arts so when I told them that I wanted to become an artist they were very supportive. In fact, it is something that they are proud of,” he said.
The artist pursued formal art education at the Indonesia Institute of Arts Yogyakarta (ISI).
The 33-year old artist has held several solo and group exhibitions in his country, Australia and the USA. He has also taken part in several exhibitions in Malaysia before.
Yaksa’s works are currently on display at Kebun Mimpi Gallery in Bangsar until the end of April.
For the exhibition, he features three of his latest works entitled Performer Series #19, Berani Bujang (which is inspired by Bayu Utomo Radjikin’s Bujang Berani) and Katak nak Jadi Lembu (after Juhari Said’s work).
“These are my interpretation of the works done by famous Malaysian artists like Bayu Utomo and Juhari Said”, he said.
In addition to Yaksa, the show also feature works by Tasiman, Sumbul Pranowo, Suryadi Suyamtina, Heri Purwanto and Dadi Setiyadi. All from the same art institute.
A total of 14 paintings done in various mediums, including acrylic and oil, are on display.
For Heri, it was the environmental issue that inspired him.
Earth colours of brown, beige as well as grey and warmer orange dominate the whole canvas.
“When I was growing up, there were plenty of green and forests all around me, including in my hometown in Central Jawa.
“But now everywhere that I go to, these seem to be depleting and are being replaced with concrete jungle.
One of his pieces entitled Nada Rimba, features rows of saplings, tree branches and trunks, floating in the air and in the sky while the older trees on the ground are chopped down and replaced by row of houses.
Dadi on the other hand is better known for his sculptures. But for the exhibition the artist shares his paintings instead.
Using his imagination, the artist has incorporated elements of fantasy and animation in his works.
“When I look at something, even a woman, I would see them differently from what they appear as.
“More often than not, they will appear like a character in an anime series,” he said.
His imaginative work is clearly seen in the piece entitled Beautikwekk, where he portrayed a woman with a duck beak and a serial number on her neck.
The Kebun Mimpi Gallery is located at 118, Jalan Cenderai 1, Lucky Garden Bangsar, and can be reached at 03-2092 4959.
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