Contemporary art comes wrapped in newspaper

Carla Bianpoen ,  Contributor ,  Singapore   |  Sun, 04/20/2008 10:56 AM  |  Arts & Design

Yogyakarta artist Budi Ubrux has created a convincingly surreal world in Ipreciation at the Fullerton hotel in Singapore.

The oil paintings in this, his first solo exhibition outside of Indonesia, are of people and objects that have been concealed or tightly wrapped in newspaper. They are close to, yet unseen, by the outside world.

Budi's figures could be perceived as corpses, covered as if ready for burial, and yet it is as if they have shaken their bones and come to life. They sit at the dinner table, stand up in protest and take part in meetings.

They are the faceless masses, the poor whose situations are beyond our grasp and who live their lives in unfathomable misery. They are also representatives of a society that is in danger of being "swallowed up" by the media

Budi began working with images of newspapers in 1997-1998, when social and political upheavals resounded through the words that filled their pages.

Newspapers had become "essential reading" and this had a profound impact on Indonesian culture.

Budi believed that just as the media was following events and disseminating information, it was also erasing humanity, telling half-truths and lies.

The sheets of newspaper in his works are meticulously painted, down to every single letter. Budi does the same for Chinese newspapers, although he doesn't understand a single word of the language. It takes ages before he finishes a canvas, but he is in no hurry. "I love to paint" he explains.

Budi's canvases carry titles as cynical as Clowns will be Clowns and Talk Only. He paints people who are weary and out of resources. They are shadows in every way.

The artist says many of his friends are poor and he is familiar with their way of life.

Taking a Break refers to laborers, Life Must Go On shows his concern for the urban poor.

Sometimes the coverings have the appearance of newspaper bandages, as in the award-winning canvas Imagology, at other times they take the shape of zombies, who are deprived of the power to feel.

In the year 2000, many new newspapers opened up in Indonesia, adding to an abundance of images.

Budi found the power of the media frightening, and expressed this in his painting The Trap, which features a labyrinth in which there is no way out.

But Budi is not without hope. In Moment in Truth a red light shines over the images in the upper half of the canvas, forming the national flag, as if to say "we shall overcome".

Born in 1968 as Budi Haryono, which in the Javanese tradition means knowledgeable and persevering, he changed his name to Ubrux in a contemporary twist of his Javanese nickname ubruq (noisy), a name he earned as a school boy who used to make a lot of noise in class.

Today he is a person who speaks sparingly but absorbs the urban noise of politics and politicking in his utterly detailed and unique canvases.

Ubrux is a virtual autodidact. He failed to enter the prestigious art school ISI in Yogyakarta, but this has not prevented him from being creative, professional and persevering. Believe is the title of one of his paintings, which he says denotes his belief that he is on the right track.

Today, Budi seems to be in the process of abandoning the newspaper, as some of his figures appear "unwrapped".

These works lack the mystery and excitement of Budi's earlier ones. But he is currently exploring other ways of using newsprint images. "The print is tattooed onto the flesh," is all Budi will say for now, keeping us in suspense until his next show.

"Beyond the Headlines"
Until 24 April
iPreciation
One Fullerton Square *01-05
(The Fullerton Hotel)
Singapore
Phone: +(65) 6339 0678
enquiry@ipreciation.com

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