Thanks, Bruce !
Meeting an iconic illustrator of Bali
by Joo Peter
When I first came to Bali twenty years ago, two iconic authors have introduced me to Balinese culture. Fred B. Eiseman’s bestseller “Sekala and Niskala” (which translates as “the visible and invisible world”) and Bruce Granquist, an illustrator, mapping artist and writer who uniquely depicts and explains Bali’s complex culture. I didn’t know his name for many years, but his illustrations in many collaborative books always appealed to me.
I was amazed by his hand-painted map of Bali, so helpful in the old days before Google map. The beauty of the map made me curious to travel and discover the island on the small country roads and this watercolour artwork was perfectly usable. What an achievement and lasting magic.
Now that he has published a book summarising his legacy, “Mapping Bali”, I visited Bruce in his studio in North Bali.
Below: The artist unrolls the original hand-painted map of Bali
Bruce also designed a map of Ubud. I used it to explore the area in the old days.
Below: The original map for my first explorations leads from Ubud to Tampak Siring in the right corner.
Bruce Granquist, born in Chicago in 1958, came to Bali in 1986, around the time the first telephone arrived in Ubud. It was not until the 1970s that the first light bulb and electricity reached Ubud. Bruce Granquist’s long-term map project was first published in the 90s. Bali has changed a lot since then. Below is a comparison of the Ubud area in 1985 and 2024 with historical satellite images provided by Google.
Bruce didn’t have Google Maps in 1986. By chance, he came into possession of the blueprints of the original 1928 Dutch topographical maps of Bali. “I arranged the charts on my floor, the complete map of Bali filled my whole room”. The 1928 Dutch plans were very detailed, but they didn’t show roads, just paths. Bruce Granquist started researching on the ground to see which paths had become roads. By the use of watercolour he began to create a map with a soul.
It took many years to hand-paint the complete map of Bali. After starting the project in 1986, the map was finally printed in 1999. The 10000 copies are sold out.
A map with a soul: the close-up of the map shows the artistic work of fine layers of colour, applied with paintbrush and toothbrush.
In 1986, the area around Mount Batur was still sparsely populated, as the great volcanic eruption of 1963, which killed around 1500 people, had only been two decades ago. The Bali Aga village of Trunyan could only be reached by boat across Lake Batur (small village on the right). A comparison of satellite images from 1985 and 2024 shows the massive changes since then.
The south has seen the biggest changes since Bruce started his map project in the 80s.
Below: Comparison between 1986 and 2024
When Bruce Granquist first came to Bali in the 1980s, the population of Denpasar was about 150,000 – today it’s 1.3 million.
Below: Kuta and West coast North of Kuta 1985 and 2023
I visited Bruce Granquist at his home in North Bali, where Bali hasn’t changed that much in the last 40 years.
Me, Bruce and his wife in the garden of his house enjoying rambutan fruit from his garden.
He showed me the first sketches of his map projects
Bruce does much more than maps, of course. Most people will remember his excellent illustrations of Bali’s culture, architecture, flora and fauna. The new book “Mapping Bali” showcases his work over the decades.
The attention to detail and the use of colour put a spell on me.
His new book, Mapping Bali, is also an insight into the process behind his work.
Bruce Granquist is a messenger and translator of Balinese culture. “When I start working, I always remind myself: it’s not about me.” He describes a kind of trance in the working process: “Breathe in – breathe out”. Getting into the flow of the marathon work of detail and precision.
And Bruce Granquist is a writer too. Of course he is! This is part of the intense research that goes into every subject he works on. So “Mapping Bali” is also a great warm-hearted read about the culture, spirituality and mentality of Bali.
Today, Bruce also makes abstract art, to balance his equilibrium. In the last years, writing has become more important. After four years of research, interviews with artists, collectors and historians, he published a book on Balinese art from Batuan: “Inventing Art – The Paintings of Bali Batuan”.
below: Page of the book showing a detail of a Batuan painting by I Made Budi
(article by Joo Peter, March 2024)
Discover more comparisons of past and present satellite images of Bali here
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