Mind Games (Courtesy of Lala Bohang)

With her playful black-and-white drawings of honeyed and fantastical characters, Lala Bohang has grown to become one of the most recognizable names in the local illustration scene.

One might recognize Lala Bohang’s name from her recent collaboration with popular clothing brand Giordano, or maybe from her many residency activities, including 2014’s large-scale Indonesia Residency Program Exhibition at the National Gallery.

But more recently, she branched out toward the literary-creative world, publishing books such as WRITTEN, followed by The Book of Forbidden Feelings, a titular reference to US aviator Charles Lindbergh who said, “Isn’t it strange that we talk least about the things we think about most?”

Forbidden Feelings features a study of the ways people communicate in professional and public settings, where interactions are often limited to certain expected structures where there is no discussion of actual emotional value or substance.

It of course references the 20-something Lala’s own experiences in social and professional situations, in which time feels continuously limited, with no space for anything beyond “surface” discussions.

Lala considers it natural that people are kept busy with commitments and responsibilities. “The number of things we have to do increases, and that diminishes the time we have for social functions — not just with colleagues, but even with family members and friends,” she said.

“We only think about these [social] things when we’re doing simple things — like when we’re in line at the ATM, or when we’re in the bathroom, or when we’re about to fall asleep or at the bus.”

This book is then, “A celebration of reality,” combining writings from her personal journals, random to-do lists, or notes written nonchalantly on her smartphone.

“What society accepts today is success, shiny things, contentment, Zen, organic, perfection — while the reality is, we’re much more than that,” Lala said.

In a way, the book continues where WRITTEN left off; railing against the supposed depth of modern culture that revels in increasingly impersonal interaction.

“Why are the best-selling books the ones that don’t have their feet on the ground? Books about financial success, life comforts and the like are successful. Why the focus on schemes or methods on ‘how to get rich’? I am not saying all of those [books] are particularly bad, but they will not leave a good impression for the younger generation,” Lala said about WRITTEN when it was published.

Meet the author: In her new publication The Book of Forbidden Feelings, illustrator-author Lala Bohan tackles the subject of modern living. (Courtesy of Lala Bohang/Herry Ananta)

Lala’s drawing and writing styles both can be traced back to her favorite books as a child, in particular the works of children authors Enid Blyton and Astrid Lindgren, as well as Indonesia’s own Serial Cerita Rakyat, a series of stories recounting the nation’s folklores — all of which were recommended to her by her grandfather, who remains a massive influence.

She loved these books for teaching her things that the outdated Indonesian school system lacked.

Lala was born in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar and grew up in Palu, Central Sulawesi. She views the lifestyle of remoteness as having been beneficial to her creative upbringing, as the lack of distractions, such as from electronic toys, forced her to come up with various ways to entertain herself.

She then moved to Bandung in West Java to study Architecture at Parahyangan University, which eventually landed her a few “professional” jobs that she could not see herself doing for her entire life.

Lala eventually focused on her drawings and writings, taking refuge with the various illustration and art collectives around Jakarta and Bandung, including one of the bigger ones in “The Dancing Animal”.

The stints helped increase her confidence and gained her a larger network from which she started receiving paid offers in exchange for her illustrative skills.

Through The Book of Forbidden Feelings and her illustrative works, Lala continues to grow creatively.

“What I want to evoke with my drawings constantly changes. In the beginning, I was obsessed with ‘out of this world’ ideas, using a lot of imagination,” she said.

“But lately I’ve been drawn to the mundaneness of daily life,” Lala added. “I am intrigued by the things we do that we don’t talk about often — whether it’s getting out of bed, struggling to get to work, taking showers, preparing breakfasts, replying to WhatsApp messages, cleaning up the refrigerator, or buying another gallon of mineral water — important things that keep us grounded in reality comes unappreciated.”

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