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Neng Iren and her minimalist art
Colorful touch: Neng Irenâs minimalist art is all about its subjects
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Colorful touch: Neng Iren's minimalist art is all about its subjects.
Irene Saputra, a.k.a. Neng Iren, is part of a new generation of Indonesian artists who have established their brand through the internet.
The Jakarta-based artist's stylistic portraits of moody girls ' a style that seems to be in vogue ' has found a loyal audience among aesthetic-driven urbanites. She currently has more than 20,000 followers on the photo-sharing social-media site Instagram.
'It's important to be surrounded by things that inspire you ' things that I see, hear, or feel every day. I am happiest when I am in a productive mode,' says Irene.
Inspired by lookbooks and fashion spreads, Irene's visual style treads through a variety of different genres: some cartoonish, some realist, some absurd and some just plain beautiful. What they have in common is a curiosity about gloom.
'I am easily baited by flat [facial] expressions, sorrowful and gloomy ones with hints of quirkiness and oddness. I also love minimalistic layouts and color compositions. I also love working on fabric materials.'
Fittingly, Irene soundtracks her creative process by listening to melancholy music from CocoRosie and the Cocteau Twins. 'Sometimes I'm okay with vintage upbeat music like Lilis Suryani, though,' she says.
To work, Irene needs to be somewhere familiar. That means not a studio, but one side of her bedroom where she keeps all of her art equipment.
'It's got everything I need to create,' she explains.
Irene's deeper interest in illustration came when she worked as a graphic designer at Majalah Desain Grafis Concept, where the magazine's founder often handed out reference material for his employees to work with.
Having undergone what she calls 'a crisis of confidence' in 2011 after working regular day jobs, Irene went back to those references and began focusing on drawing.
After a long day of work, Irene would go back to her sketchbook ' which she initially considered as collecting 'illustrations that were less-than-OK' ' and began scrawling whatever visuals came into her mind.
'Day after day, I began to feel like this activity, drawing, had a soothing effect on my mind. It was like having a conversation with myself and it was like I was meditating.'
Her skills began to grow, she said, and after making the acquaintance of more-established illustrators, Irene's popularity rose and she began receiving commission jobs from clients to create visuals for their campaign.
'Most of my work focuses on a female's face and certain kinds of expression. It has been something I have grown to love exploring. Second to that, I love working on hairstyles and outfits,' Irene says.
Even as her fanbase grows, Irene knows that not everyone will appreciate her particular style ' not that it bothers her.
'Every individual will have a different experience when exposed to certain things. Their perspective, opinion and feelings are not something I worry about. I cannot force my experience onto others, as is true the other way around. My reference is just about the work that I make, how I communicate that and how I process it. I appreciate anything people feel about my work.'
' Photos courtesy of Neng Iren
