Contemporary art is an empowering communication platform allowing artists to give a visible presence to the invisible. The artist’s role is often to highlight important socio-political and environmental issues to create awareness and hopefully change.
Gede ‘Sayur’ Suanda is a multi-talented contemporary Balinese artist who expresses statements about the rapid changes engulfing Bali in both 3-dimensional works as well as paintings. In 2015 Sayur’s landmark installation ‘Last Defence’ was presented in ‘Violent Bali’, a group exhibition by sixty of Bali’s finest contemporary artists at the Tony Raka Gallery in Ubud. The towering 3-metre-high impression of the ‘rook’ chess piece made from bamboo, dried rice stalks and husks was his comment concerning the rapid transformation of rice fields in Bali for modern development. According to the artist, the rice fields are vital to the Balinese way of life, which is constantly under threat and the last defence of the culture, which is increasingly vulnerable to change.
More recently, Sayur has channelled his creativity into contemporary paintings. As a child, he learned the technical aspects of Balinese painting passed down through the generations. Drawing is the basic fundamental of Balinese painting and the initial process of rendering the composition details. The application of paint with small hand-crafted bamboo brushes follows various technical, traditional guidelines. The physical action is similar to drawing or colouring in.
The ancient classical Balinese religious paintings that decorate the temples throughout the island function as a collective expression of ideas from the community to the Balinese Gods and ancestors. During the last century, technical aspects of these sacred paintings merged with western painting techniques and individual ideas. As a result, various village styles or “schools” of painting evolved from the 1920s onwards, catering to new tourist markets.
A distinct aspect of traditional Balinese painting is that all visual information is contained within black outlines. When observing these paintings, flowing lines and rhythms entertain our eyes as we traverse the composition from left to right and from the top down. Natural universal rhythms are inseparable from daily life and determine the timing of the many Balinese religious ceremonies and cultural practices. Visual rhythms, therefore, are a unique and essential essence of Balinese painting.
From 1999 – 2006, Sayur studied fine art at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts of Yogyakarta. Living and learning outside the cultural restraints of his village opened him to new ideas, creative influences and time to explore different artistic possibilities. Such an experience is instrumental for the Balinese to help them break free from the rules and collective mindset that define Balinese painting. In doing so, they may create compositions to express personal ideas constructed with modern western painting techniques. Sayur’s time living within a foreign culture allowed him to perceive his upbringing and the ever-changing dynamics of modern Bali through a new lens.
Richard Horstman
@lifeasartasia
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