Supena paints homage to Bali's glorious past

By Putu Wirata

DENPASAR (JP): Young, talented Balinese painter Made Supena takes inspiration from his native culture to create his abstract works.

His solo exhibition at the Chedi Gallery, Ubud, featuring more than 20 of Supena's abstracts opened on Aug. 23 and will last until Oct. 23.

Born in 1970, Supena is a dropout of Udayana University's School of Fine Arts and Design. His talent has put his name on par with other young Balinese artists, such as Made Wianta, Nyoman Erawan and Made Sumadiyasa.

"From his works I can tell he is talented and sensitive," says Jean Couteau, an art observer in Bali. "Like any other young artist, it's important that he gives meaning to his works."

"I see that they (young artists) focus too rigidly on the old culture and do not relate their works to current realities."

With his sole exhibition, it is as though Supena wants to compete with Made Samadiyasa who has exhibited more than 100 of his works in three places simultaneously in Ubud: Neka Museum, Komaneka Fine Art Gallery and Bamboo Gallery.

Supena rejects critics' claim that he is an imitator of Jackson Pollock, the famous American "action painting" artist.

"My inspiration is the Balinese philosophy and culture," he maintains.

Supena has been trying technical experimention. For example he experiments with free brush strokes, splashes colors, lets paints freely melt, makes cuts with threads or composes collages with a mixture of sawdust, patches of cloth and so forth.

He says the technique allows him to express his imagination.

He imagines he is a Balinese dancer when he is swinging his brush on the canvas, slinging paint, putting down patches of cloth or letting paint to run down.

When possessed by taksu, or a divine spirit that gives artistic inspiration, a Balinese dancer will perform well no matter whether the venue is a packed stadium or a solemn religious ritual. The dancer's movements originate from her or his soul; there is no more conscious thought to how to move the feet, hands, fingers, raise the eyebrows, smile or gyrate eyeballs.

A similar cultural philosophy is also adopted by other Balinese abstract artists like Nyoman Erawan, Made Sumadiyasa and Nyoman Sukari.

Erawan bases his art philosophy on eternal processes -- birth, life, death -- and therefore he does not contradict "modern" with "traditional" concepts. Made Sumadiyasa, a young Balinese who is enjoying a growing popularity, obtains inspiration from yoga meditation.

The creative process involving the deep-rooted Balinese culture has amazed anthropologist Couteau, a Balinese cultural observer for the past 20 years.

"Bali has a lot of social problems that artists can use as sources of inspirations and give their works meaning. But no artist has done so," he says.

Cultural conflicts are evident from the "clashes" between locals and capitalists from other provinces. The Balinese people's wish to express their sociopolitical aspirations is often met with state oppression, culminating in bitter protests and social tension.

Supena's creative works do not reflect cultural friction within the Balinese community. He is spellbound by the myth about Balinese values as the titles of his paintings suggest: Tanah Leluhur (Ancestral Land), Energi Merah (Red Energy), Yadnya Pralina, Kesaksian Jagat (Universe Testimony) and Harmoni Alam (Natural Harmony).

His latest work, Yadnya Pralina, is dominated by red, scratches and splashes. He created it amid the atmosphere of his fellow villagers busy preparing a religious ritual called Ngaben, making a red lion-shaped sarcophagus. Supena helped his father, Ketut Muja, design the sarcophagus.

"I have not arrived at the social dynamics in Bali, as Jean Couteau expects. What inspires me is the past values that live up to today -- ancestral land, colorful rites, mythological dreams and the like," Supena says.