IBK Sindu Putra

Balinese artist, IBK Sindu Putra, is probably one of the most emerging artists in the island today. He works with crumpled-paper and he also creates puzzle-like works. Through his crumpled, black and white works, he presents his artistic take on Balinese exoticism and past. He also often borrows the characters from his favorite comic books and he puts them side by side with Balinese traditional motifs. His art is a reminiscence and exploration, and this is what he wants to show his audience. His works are now displayed at three venues; Denpasar Art Space until May 13, as well as at ARTOTEL Sanur and Tonyraka Art Gallery until May 15.
How did you become an artist?
I began my art career professionally in 2004 when I first exhibited. Meanwhile, I’ve been experiencing art since I was a child. Besides being influences by my late grandfather who was a self-taught carver, I also lived in a Brahmin environment where I could easily find art objects used for religious ceremonies like puppet paintings, carvings and statues. It’s embedded in my memory indirectly. After elementary school, I preferred to see pictures from the magazines purchased by my father and imitate them. When I was in junior high school, I liked to read Japanese comics; the most famous one was the Dragon Ball. From there, I started drawing human figures. Seeing my interest in drawing, my father then advised me to continue my study at High School of Arts in Batubulan, so that I could hone my skills.
Where do your inspirations come from?
Everything that happens in my life is a source of inspiration for my work. However, I prefer to work on self-criticism which may later be a mirror for others to see the ‘soul’ of my art.
How did your idea of creating art with this technique begin?
The idea of working with these materials began from seeing the crumpled paper used to wrap rice. The crumple of this wasted paper then gave me an understanding of memory and life experience. Just like a blank sheet of paper, humans start as a pure being before experiencing so many things in life. Not always the good experiences, but also the bad and painful ones. And after that, they might be getting thrown away, just like the crumpled paper. However, they often don’t realize that all the memories of those experiences can make them stronger today to face the future. With this in mind, I create an art concept of ‘feeling’ the memories. The memories here can be the past experiences related to myself. Technically, the crumpled imagery is the metaphor of the past memories. Meanwhile, the puzzle-like concept is an analogy of how human memories and thoughts about the past, just like the process of finishing a puzzle.
In some of your works, you also blend anime characters and their traditional motifs? What’s the meaning of it?
The anime characters mark the metaphor of my desire as an artist. Meanwhile, the traditional motifs represent my responsibility as a Balinese.