While it may be a bit bewildering that a long-standing art gallery in Bandung, West Java, would host an exhibition by an internet persona that was born in the confines of Instagram and which is known for its tendency to take jabs at the art, whoops, *** world, it does give a bit of clue about who this perplexing alter ego really belongs to in the real world. Or does it?

Then again, who is really behind Beyond Crap (BC) might not matter in the end, or perhaps it does.

Quasi-secret

The exhibition’s curator, Krishnamurti Suparka, who swore that he made a strict personal contract never to reveal the identity of the person behind BC, noted that the quasi-secret identity of the internet persona was crucial.

“On the one hand, it could be read as a sign of affinity with the graffiti/street/lowbrow tradition, while on the other we know how alter egos have always been present in art and related fields,” Krishnamurti stated in a release.

Walking down Selasar Sunaryo Art Space’s (SSAS) Ruang B and gazing toward the artist’s, whoever the person is or was, printed pieces that are lined along the walls, sometimes over blocks of bold colors taking on entire panels, feels rather strange and somewhat “awry.”

Can an art gallery really host something like this from someone whose identity is simply a void for the general public? “Well, there’s Banksy,” Krishnamurti replied with a short chuckle, proving his point empirically as we moved along the easternmost wall of the space. “I think as long as there’s no legal [ramifications],” he continued.

Oh, you jest!

It is not rage or outright distaste that emanates through BC’s works, but rather a fairly strong and convoluted feeling nevertheless. A focused one that is specifically directed toward the art world that is then given a comedic spin. 

“Humor is on the menu, right from the onset. The adolescent ‘U R’ of the intro, the emoji, the censored word, these are clear pretexts for the day. It signals a lighthearted affair, a tongue-in-cheek rendering of what seems to motivate Beyond Crap’s very existence,” wrote Krishnamurti. “A thread that drives the practice.”

BC’s specifically themed graphical commentary makes the exhibition both particularly interesting for anyone familiar with the goings-on in the said world, whipping up dry laughs among its civitas that are firmly layered above bitter acceptance, and thematically daunting for the hoi polloi. These are meme-able moments, but for whom?

“Throughout the works in this exhibition, we see instances and scenarios that may or may not be familiar to the viewer, depending on how accustomed you are to the realities being represented,” Krishnamurti acknowledged. “Yet whether you know the specifics of the narrative or not, the kinds of emotions and feelings evoked in the characters should resonate regardless.”

The delightful colors implemented in the presentation, the inherent colorful nature of the works and its amazingly pleasing graphics are definitely quite a subtle feast for the eyes. Something that some people would find more than acceptable for being lost in translation. 

Confines

“The conjectural love letters arrive in the form of appropriated comic strip grammar, decidedly vintage in manner and style, reflecting BC’s fascination with one of the golden eras of illustration in the US during the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s,” said Krishnamurti, citing as well Abner Graboff, Peter Arno and Charles Addams as foundational inspirations.

Krishnamurti even asked BC, at one point, whether the graphics were taken from a specific magazine from the past. “No, I made them myself,” said Krishnamurti, recounting what the artist said to him during one of their meetings. Its sophisticated graphics seemed like it came out of The New Yorker or other long-established, art-conscious magazines of the world.

Despite being materially “unleashed” from the digital world, BC’s exhibited works and the presentation feel rather constrained. Showing the inherent intricate qualities of the works in terms of the printing process and the quality of materials instead of being unreasonably expansive in their execution, it is remarkably graceful how the exhibition can preserve the internet persona’s essence.

“By no means BC’s first public display in material form, this current transition from the virtual to the physical is a logical progression, an attempt to reestablish its connection with the roots,” wrote Krishnamurti. “From the luxuries of immediacy and efficiency of the iPads and the Procreates to the time-consuming processes of manual color separations and raster size changes.”

With Krishnamurti likening BC to an archetypal medieval court jester who has the ability to mock or poke fun at royals without fear of consequences, it is very refreshing to see an art space of SSAS’ caliber highlighting BC’s rage against the machine, or even taking part in its self-deprecation.

So who’s really behind Beyond Crap?

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