What is justice?: Dancers surround the Dewi Zolim statue by artist Nyoman Nuarta at the NuArt Sculpture Park." height="341" width="512" border="0">What is justice?: Dancers surround the Dewi Zolim statue by artist Nyoman Nuarta at the NuArt Sculpture Park.

Artist Nyoman Nuarta displays his latest collections in the NuArt Sculpture Park in Bandung, West Java. His artworks talk about his contemplation on various issues in the country.

A female orangutan holds her frightened baby tightly as they try to survive a forest fire that has engulfed their treetop home. Sooner or later, the homeless orangutan will die like the burning woods that she once called home.

Created by renowned sculptor Nyoman Nuarta, the piece sends a strong message about the environmental destruction occurring all over the country and it is one of around 30 new works displayed at his exhibition at the NuArt Sculpture Park in Bandung.

The artworks are displayed not only inside the gallery but also in the outdoor area.

“Most of these works reflect my distress with the current situation,” the 64-year-old sculptor said at the exhibition opening on Thursday evening

He is also concerned about the country’s judicial system, which he says ideally should be crafted to enable the pursuit of justice, but in reality made justice the most difficult thing to get.

“I have experienced it myself. I am not just making up stories. We have crazy laws,” Nyoman said, referring to the many lawsuits that he was involved in related to the Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue project in Bali.

He is trying to see the bigger picture in the various high-profile trials involving the poor.

“Have you seen poor people fighting against the rich? The winner is always surely the rich. We also see the poor fighting against the state,” he said.

 His contemplation of these themes inspired him to make a statue called Dewi Zolim, which depicts an angel of death. He took the image of Themis, a goddess from Greek mythology who was known for having soft personality and loving beauty. The goddess is usually pictured wearing a blindfold and carrying a sword in her right hand and a set of scales in her left hand to symbolize objectivity, neutrality and blind justice.

In the statue made by Nyoman’s hand, the image is transformed into a terrifying figure wearing a long cape and hood and carrying a scythe in her right hand and a scale in her left hand. In the artwork, she tramples humans who have been chained under her feet.

What is justice?: Dancers surround the Dewi Zolim statue by artist Nyoman Nuarta at the NuArt Sculpture Park.

Artist Nyoman Nuarta displays his latest collections in the NuArt Sculpture Park in Bandung, West Java. His artworks talk about his contemplation on various issues in the country.

A female orangutan holds her frightened baby tightly as they try to survive a forest fire that has engulfed their treetop home. Sooner or later, the homeless orangutan will die like the burning woods that she once called home.

Created by renowned sculptor Nyoman Nuarta, the piece sends a strong message about the environmental destruction occurring all over the country and it is one of around 30 new works displayed at his exhibition at the NuArt Sculpture Park in Bandung.

The artworks are displayed not only inside the gallery but also in the outdoor area.

'€œMost of these works reflect my distress with the current situation,'€ the 64-year-old sculptor said at the exhibition opening on Thursday evening

He is also concerned about the country'€™s judicial system, which he says ideally should be crafted to enable the pursuit of justice, but in reality made justice the most difficult thing to get.

'€œI have experienced it myself. I am not just making up stories. We have crazy laws,'€ Nyoman said, referring to the many lawsuits that he was involved in related to the Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue project in Bali.

He is trying to see the bigger picture in the various high-profile trials involving the poor.

'€œHave you seen poor people fighting against the rich? The winner is always surely the rich. We also see the poor fighting against the state,'€ he said.

 His contemplation of these themes inspired him to make a statue called Dewi Zolim, which depicts an angel of death. He took the image of Themis, a goddess from Greek mythology who was known for having soft personality and loving beauty. The goddess is usually pictured wearing a blindfold and carrying a sword in her right hand and a set of scales in her left hand to symbolize objectivity, neutrality and blind justice.

In the statue made by Nyoman'€™s hand, the image is transformed into a terrifying figure wearing a long cape and hood and carrying a scythe in her right hand and a scale in her left hand. In the artwork, she tramples humans who have been chained under her feet.

Climate change: La Nina III sculpture (2015)

'€œThe court right now is like a demon holding a scythe or a sickle. That is what I feel,'€ he said about the artwork.

Art critic and curator Jim Supangkat said that Nyoman'€™s works were like realist statues.

'€œHe makes constructive statues that reflect the current development of this art. The construction becomes an integral part of his language of personification, and he develops several calculations about the structure and construction of the sculptures,'€ he said.

Calculations in Nyoman'€™s works can be seen in his gigantic sculptures, such as the Jalesveva Jayamahe navy monument in Surabaya in East Java and the Garuda Wisnu Kencana in Bali, which reaches 121 meters high.

Nyoman believes that the opening of his gallery can serve as a way to humanize people by means of culture. The NuArt Sculpture Park also provides a space for artists to express their creativity and display their artworks.

'€œWe have curators who handle this place. I am not involved in this [running the space]. This place is privately owned and has been built without sponsorship. We want to show other people, or perhaps our country, that art can stand on its own,'€ he said.

One huge project: A visitor enjoys a painting by Andreas Camelia titled '€œThe Journey of Garuda Wisnu Kencana'€ in the NuArt Sculpture Park in Bandung, West Java, on Thursday. The public can look at more than 100 statues in Nyoman'€™s NuArt Sculpture Park.

'€” Photos by JP/Arya Dipa
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