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With buttons as eyes, 'Kaum Mata Kancing' exhibition explores people's lives
Created by artist I Putu Adi 'Kencut' Suanjaya, Kaum Mata Kancing can be used to reflect on a better version of yourself.
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The 'Life is about Challenge' painting is viewed through augmented reality (AR) at the 'Kaum Mata Kancing' exhibition by I Putu Adi 'Kencut' Suanjaya on Friday, Jan. 18 at Kopi Kalyan, South Jakarta. (JP/Wienda Parwitasari)
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em>Kaum Mata Kancing (button-eyed people) is the debut solo exhibition of Yogyakarta-based artist I Putu Adi “Kencut” Suanjaya. Curated by architect Ary Indra, the event is held from Jan. 18 to Feb. 9 at Kopi Kalyan in South Jakarta.
Set in a pink-dominated venue, the displayed paintings explore different periods in Kencut’s journey as an artist, namely Kelahiran (birth), Explorasi (exploration), Repetisi (repetition) and Guardian. Kencut has been known for his figures with buttons as their eyes. They are shaped like soft dolls and designed to have human-like behaviors.
Inspired by fantasy film Coraline (2009), these figures are portrayed to be able to hunt or kill each other, but their feelings are somehow hidden as they do not have real eyes. Life is about Challenge (2018), for instance, depicts a giant figure holding a spear with heads still attached to it. Set as part of Guardian period, the painting may look weird and funny at a glance, but there lays another meaning.
“We can see if people are sad or happy from their eyes,” said Kencut during a press conference on Jan. 18 at Kopi Kalyan in South Jakarta. “I was inspired by the Mahabarata epic that narrates the war among family members, but Life is about Challenge has a different context. It tells about contemporary people who wish to kill and fight with each other for their own sake.”
In Green Snake (2017), two figures are seen wrapping around each other. Ary said though they may look harmless, one figure is actually backstabbing another. “Because their eyes are made from buttons, we cannot understand their true hearts,” he said on the same occasion.
Ary admitted that Kencut’s artwork is actually satire. “The figures are reluctant to be sinners as our eyes usually show whether we’ve committed sins or not,” he said. “Kencut has consistently used button-eyed figures as main characters since the beginning, so it’s actually a satire made lightly.”
Read also: Borobudur art exhibition features works by Balinese artists
Bali as Kencut’s hometown plays an important role in Kencut’s painting. It shows in the way he drew patterns as the figures’ costumes in his paintings. In high school, Kencut had the chance to learn about sculpting and often accompanied his sibling when hunting for fabrics and buttons. “Barong and Rangda [masks] can be said to be dolls in Balinese culture and they’re ‘awakened’ for ritual purposes, while my dolls are revived [to act] like humans,” said Kencut, an alumnus of the Indonesian Arts Institute in Yogyakarta and finalist of UOB Painting of the Year in 2016.
Kencut hopes people can reflect on themselves through his artwork. “Perhaps they have bad or good personal stories, and they can use these [paintings] as the mirror to become a better version of themselves,” said Kencut.
Several paintings in Kaum Mata Kancing can be seen with augmented reality (AR). Collaborating with Ars. app, the exhibition allows visitors to see the live version of characters in Kencut’s paintings. The app is available for Apple users.
Ary decided to utilize AR technology to give visitors new ways of imagining and enjoying the artwork. (wng)
