Childhood Memories, Everyday Objects – 'Our World'

(6/6/2009)

While the artistic styles of the two Balinese artists, Uuk Paramahita and I Gede Pande Paramartha, are distinctly different, their thematic material and sources of inspiration are remarkably similar. So, too, both men share a love of bright colors and enigmatic imagery. In the case of Gede Paramartha, who states they are derived from "reflections and images of my youth" we are confronted with strange but whimsical beasts that could be from outer space, the netherworld or an electron microscope expressed with naïve almost cartoon-like shapes. While his images may at first appear guileless, careful examination reveals a sophisticated sense of colors and complex compositions that dance on the surface with no pretence of depth.

Uuk Paramahita, in contrast, places his own colorful but usually less identifiable inhabitants in compositions that use stylized landscape features – rivers, islands, the sea, forests and mountains that evoke perspective but acknowledge the canvasses two dimensional surface. Notably almost all his works are defined by a horizon that divides the sky from the earth (or sea). So, too, the landscapes are populated with buildings, animals, peoples and even vehicles but without the minute details Gede Paramartha is so fond of. "My starting point is everyday objects that I make my own," he explains.

At a time when Indonesian artists have been achieving increasing international recognition, both of these talented artists have won awards and the attention of critics. The melting point is the magic of imagination, which experiences its greatest freedom in our youth, and turns even the mundane into miracles.