A flower blooms on canvas with young artist Ira
By Mehru Jaffer
JAKARTA (JP): It is the turn of Ira Hartini Natapraja to paint the town red, for the 22-year-old has much to celebrate.
She is the newest recruit to join the army of artists painting here with the opening of Metamorphosis of a Hibiscus, her maiden exhibition, at the Regent Hotel in South Jakarta.
Although her style is abstract, it is not difficult to spot the five-petaled hibiscus, mostly painted in the color of blood, in each of the 45 works. But it is not revolution or anger that comes to her mind when she sees red. It is not even passion, sexuality or the red earth.
What the color red inspires in her are bounding images of youth, playfulness and supreme good cheer.
And she hates to dilute primary colors, liberally using the colors blue, green and yellow as well to paint her hibiscus. Outlines of other creatures of the earth like snails, slugs and even snakes are often to be spotted in her paintings as well. The spider also seems engrossed in working alongside her on the canvas.
She prefers not to leave any corner of the canvas in its natural color, covering it instead with coats of white paint to make sure that the primary colors she uses really stand out against a very chalky background. The result is a study in such stunning contrasts that it make the colors of Lego Land seem pale by comparison.
Growing up in the highlands of West Java, Ira remembers being surrounded all the time by an exotic array of flora and fauna. But it was in her Jakarta home that she found herself mesmerized one day by the spectacular beauty of the hibiscus that had spread its flaming red color like fire beside the serene white water of the swimming pool.
Ever since, Ira has been unable to get the hibiscus out of her mind, a flower that according to Hindu mythology is sacred to Ganesh, the elephant god, god of good luck who destroys obstacles and makes all dreams come true. And its flaming red color holds its own meanings in many different contexts. In Christianity, for instance, red is the color of the robes worn by cardinals and is considered a symbol of Christ whose wine is red and bread white. Red is also the color of royalty on earth.
The hermit in ancient times used the hibiscus to help him make his mantras and to enhance his concentration while meditating. Today, Ira uses this energetic flower as the main totem in her drawings that have helped her attract visitors to the exhibition like proverbial bees to the hive.
The youngest in a family of 10 children, Ira's love of drawing nearly got drowned in the hustle and bustle of a large household in the small West Java town of Subang. It was a chance meeting with Dhaimeler, the French artist, that changed her entire life and helped her talents blossom.
Dhaimeler not only declared her drawings promising but also his undying love for her. He immediately married the Sundanese beauty who traces her ancestry to the family of the ancient neighboring kingdom of Galuh.
Her relationship with Dhaimeler has greatly helped Ira to concentrate on enhancing her love for the arts.
A trip to Europe soon after her marriage included visits to numerous museums and art exhibitions and filled her with such inspiration that she still is unable to take her hands away from canvas and paints even today.
While still with her parents, it was repeatedly suggested to her that she study something like medicine or engineering so that she could follow a profitable profession, something which would be lucrative in the long run. Art, after all, is for starving artists, or so many think.
But she remembers rejecting all those prosaic subjects even as she did not know at that time what it was that she really wanted to do. She had liked to write in her spare time and designed comic books, writing her own text and illustrating them, unlike her other siblings who are involved in some business activity or another.
Eventually, when she found her new husband, she also found her new direction in life.
After she met Dhaimeler, she began painting in the classical Cubist style in imitation of her husband, using similar color combinations as well. Then she enrolled for classes at the Academy of Arts in Jakarta (IKJ) and, after months of practice, she seems to be now emerging with an abstract style of her own that is bound to find greater depth as the youthful painter matures with time.
As Ira's exhibition draws new fans, many an eye is focused on this new flower that is only just beginning to bud in the great, big garden of art out there.
The exhibition in the lobby of the Regent is open until March 1. For further information telephone 2523456.