In order to create precious and meaningful works on canvas artists should have issues or ideas that may arise from internal part of the artist and from external that obtained via social intercourse and wider circles of association. Creative artists always attempt to ‘absorb’ the ideas or issues bothering their thoughts or feelings first. Then they reflect and interpret those ideas. After that, the artists represent the ideas through their colorful works. 

In the end, every art works will become “Tanda Hati” of the artists. The term is literally translated as “the heart sign” which is a trace coming from the reflection space of the artists concerning on various kinds of issues or ideas. As an individual human being, everybody, including artist has his or her own heart sign as media used to explore the socio-cultural spaces. Tanda hati is not only the form of expressions but it also indicates the existence of the artists. On some cases, every man is an artist. Moreover, God is also a very great artist who creates this universe with many beautiful and valuable things in it. Therefore, it is obvious that heart sign comes from mind consciousness “lightened” by any kinds of issues or ideas.

The exhibition performs the heart sign of four artists. They have been actively participating in fine art world through some exhibitions both in and out of Indonesia. Those artists are I Ketut Suwidiarta, I Wayan Sandika, I Wayan Sudarna Putra and I Gusti Ngurah Putu Buda respectively. Each of these artists has his typical character and has exhibited various kinds of ideas as painting themes expressed in each of their works. Apart from having technical skills, the artists should also have ideas or problems manifested in their works. The work without idea is nothing. Even, a piece of abstract painting should have idea as well. 

Certainly, the ideas come out from the artists’ intelligence and sensitivity in absorbing, responding, and criticizing both internally and externally occurred phenomena. Nowadays, our fine art development is poor in ideas under the glamorous and the swift of technique advancement. To overcome this obstacle, in the near future, we need brighter ideas so that the world will admit our existence and our quality.

Let us focus to the point of the subject and let me become the four artists’ spokesman to voice their ideas and to comment on one or two of their works. The Tanda Hati exhibition is based on attempts to reveal the ironies and satires phenomena appeared in every sides of our life. It is the artists’ testimony on a wide range of issues or incidents teasing their consciousness.

The heart sign and ideas of Suwidiarta’s works are inspired by globalization issues that have constructed many new phenomena. The boundaries among countries are nearly invisible. In the phenomena of internet, for instance, Ketut feels that the world is getting smaller in size. Every people become the citizen of one world. Nationalism is gradually going down. The country doesn’t any longer become the strong pillar supporting its people’s life. People keep on looking for new formulations by claiming various cultures and philosophies. Suwidiarta tries to collect and frame all those issues coming from the combination of different kinds of culture backgrounds, especially those that make the people become lose of their nationalism. These phenomena cause irony, satire, parody which Ketut demonstrates through his works.

In two of his works called “Triumph of Death” and “Lost”, for instances, he plays numerous cross-cultural icons and symbols in strong nuance of parody. The fallen body of Gajah Mada in dashing general uniform is propped up with arrows--exactly like the scene of Bhisma’s death in Mahabarata epic-- is surrounded by the mourning celebrities coming from any races and any countries. Through these works Ketut has a strong desire to point out that the magnet of globalization have caused the borderlines of myths, epics, ethnics, races, cultures, nations, and, nationalism are
unrecognizable any longer.

I Wayan Sandika introducing issues or real situations mostly experienced in the smallest community unit level of human—that is phenomena happened in the scope of the family. Sandika rethinks and reflect about the essential communication between parents and their sons and daughters. Psychologically, children are considered as uncolored or plain papers that make the parents feel free to “fill” everything they want to. As the impact of this plainness, of course, the children will automatically
imitate what their parents do and say. If their parents say something bad, it is pretty sure that their children will do so. Conversely, if they educate them with love, the will grow well, too.

Since the absorption in running businesses and routines, the parents sometimes neglect the existence of the children. In other words, the children are uncontrolled so that they can grow wild and practicing or doing many improper things. In one of his works of which the title is “Message”, ironically, Sandika exhibits a smoking baby while immersing himself into a bathtub. Not so long ago, someone has uploaded the video of such a smoking baby in youtube to make something funny. Of course, it was protested and complained by many people all over the world thinking that the video is the form of children exploitation and it teaches something bad to the children. However, the painting of Sandika is not telling jokes. He advises every parents to keep the children well.

Wayan also demonstrates the ironies on parents-children relation through his other works.  In “Single Parents” he illustrates a sexy woman carrying two packages containing doll and baby respectively. The main focus and the message of this work is the way the mother treats her baby doesn’t show the characteristic of a loving mother. The activity of getting a better career often impact on neglecting the children. This painting shows that the mother treats her baby as same as how she treats a doll. The baby is easy to be hauled around –even carried on a hand. The baby is supposed as if he or she is not a human being who needs mothers’ love.

There aren’t so many human beings who have ability to deeply know who they are. Knowing and admitting oneself wholly and holistically require mental readiness. Human beings are often controlled by self-imagery. They also frequently react on the judgment given by their environment. Self-imagery is a kind of mask that intentionally used aiming at hiding their weakness. Mental readiness and self-awareness are needed to unmask so that human can reach their integrity-their wholeness which means those having weaknesses and strengths at once. These issues become the source of ideas and reflections of I Wayan Sudarna Putra’s work.

The latest series of Sudrana’s work entitled “Si Buruk Rupa” – literally means ‘the bad face’—is part of his self-recognizing process. There is a very big unanswered and a never-ending question in his mind that becomes the basis of his reflection and curiosity: “Who I am?” He never gives up chasing his truth identity as a human being. The representation of bad face which he modifies from his face is the confession of the imperfection, a sort of auto-critic. These faces are sticked on the glass, flat, shapeless, and sickening. Observing this work I begin to think that in reality human beings are the most disgusting creatures who keep on striving for reaching perfection.

Through the representation of rather dark abstraction works, I Gusti Putu Buda comes up with ideas and issues related to self- conflict, social conflict, global crisis, and other tragedies happened on earth recently. The issues and incidents occurred in our country and overseas are mixed to form a rather pessimistic point of view, as if there is no way out and significant solution to solve the problems. However, if it is though thoroughly, every problem and incidents will forge human beings to fight to find the space of hopes that make them still feel comfortable to  keep up living on earth. 

That’s the way it is with Gusti Buda. He tends to use the dark colours to reflect the problems happened to him as well as about wider social problems he experienced and observed. The “Dark Nest” departs from social phenomena like a dark land on which the human beings are hopeless in a chaotic situation. Meanwhile, through “Toward Light” Gusti Buda leaves the message that in the darkness, it doesn’t matter--how small the light is--it can be interpreted as a hope.

The four artists have expressed their heart signs, the works that represent the reflection of each of their mind consciousness in responding all kinds of issues and phenomena both coming from internal and experienced and felt by the artists. And now, it’s your chance to interpret those heart signs.