Kadek Rudiantara, better known as Aboedt, is a self-taught Balinese artist who hails from the village of Mas in Ubud. Starting off as a ‘fad’, painting has now become part of his life and it is all thanks to the power of social media which has helped him a lot on his journey. Now, he has also been named the first painter to create paintings from signatures by the Museum of World Records Indonesia (MURI).
How did it start?
When I was a kid, I liked to doodle and create arty things. However, it was only half a year ago that I started painting seriously. It all started from paper. As a result, I took the pictures and put them on my social media. There were many responses coming, and it gave me more reasons to create better works. And honestly, the virtual world is indeed what makes me feel more enthusiastic about creating art. I’m self-taught, so I never learned to create art, even after I found my own style. Since then, I have become more active in creating art. There is no day without painting.
What do you paint?
Most of my works focus on women. I like to paint women as they are beautiful, and they also have a strong appeal. I love to paint monsters or giants. Sometimes, I love to depict the symbols of divinity. I also love to create paintings that are based on signatures. From the signatures of my friends, I would respond to it with lines and those signatures would then become my masterpieces.
How did you come up with the idea of responding with these signatures?
The idea emerged from a guest book. This idea came about in 2015 during my first exhibition in Ubud. Unlike the usual, this ‘guest book’ was transformed into a large sheet of paper. All guests would put their signatures there. Then, I responded by making it into be one huge painting. However, the result wasn’t that satisfying as the signatures weren’t shown clearly. In 2016, I tried to respond with one signature on one medium. I would say that it was the actual beginning of all creations that I’ve collected until today.
How many creations have been made so far?
There are about 2,200 paintings now.
What’s next after this MURI record?
I’ll continue creating art. However, I won’t only focus on responding to signatures. This record is a marker of my success, while these signature works will be the beginning of other uncommon ideas that I would love to explore in the future.
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