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Gugug: A free-spirited, silent observer of everyday life
An exhibition to celebrate 25 years of comic strip ‘Gugug!’ embodies the canine character’s free and adventurous spirit.
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Spot the dog: Gugug peeks out of a vase in ‘Hiding with Care’, an acrylic painting by its creator Muhammad “Emte” Taufiq that was displayed along with other artworks featuring the titular character of the serial comic strip in Gugug! The Impawsible Exhibition, which ran from Jan. 27 to Feb. 25 at Slab by Rachel Gallery in Menteng, Central Jakarta. (JP/Tunggul Wirajuda)
W
hite Ming-style vases are set in rows, their blue lines seeming to meld into the azure background in a seemingly innocuous acrylic painting, if it were not for the cartoon dog hiding in plain sight.
Calling to mind the titular character in Where’s Wally? by British author Martin Handford, Hiding with Care by Indonesian illustrator and comic artist Muhammad “Emte” Taufiq shows the canine character attempting to do just that, only to be given away by his black ears and nose.
Its title a play on the phrase “handle with care”, the painting reflects the irreverent, lighthearted humor and sense of adventure of Gugug, the star of Emte’s serial, silent comic strip of the same name.
Creative evolution
Hiding with Care is one of 46 works in Gugug! The Impawsible Exhibition marking 25 years of Emte’s work featuring his canine comic character Gugug, which ran from Jan. 27 to Feb. 25 at Slab by Rachel Gallery in Menteng, Central Jakarta.
The exhibition featured paintings, postcards, prints, patches and T-shirts emblazoned with Gugug, showing how far the canine character has come since its inception in 1999, which could be had for prices ranging between Rp 250,000 (US$16.03) and Rp 6 million.
“Emte first had the idea to create Gugug after he saw a stray dog on the premises of the Jakarta Art Institute [IKJ], where he was studying visual communications design. He saw the dog as a metaphor for freedom, which he felt was a right that everyone should have,” curator Muhammad Erlangga Kenu said on Feb. 13.
