Indonesia

Budiana lives in a typical Balinese family compound in the old royal village of Ubud – pavilions in a garden full of intricate handmade art, including a family temple.

In 1969, at the age of 19, Budiana began studying art in Denpasar. At that time life was still very traditional, there was no electricity on the island until the mid-seventies, and the first telephone was installed in 1985. Not far from his home lived the legendary artist I Gusti Lempad, born in 1862, who was 116 years old when he died in 1978. Budiana also learned briefly from Rudolf Bonnet (1895-1978) in his later years, from 1975-77. Along with Walter Spies, Rudolf Bonnet was one of the most influential artists in Bali in the early 20th century.

Sekala and Niskala, the visible and the invisible world – Budiana’s art is a journey into the Balinese cosmos of belief, mythology and spirituality with interwoven cultural roots. Creative dualism: light and darkness are always part of our lives, the dynamic movement of our karma, as Budiana explains in “Whirling”, the title of a recently published catalogue of some of his major works.

“Heading towards release” is the title of the painting above in the Arma Museum. Based on the Mahabharata epic, it depicts the final moment when, after all his struggles and challenges, the hero Pandava is marching towards heaven – with one last obstacle to overcome. The guardians of heaven welcome him, but not his dog. “I will not enter without my dog,” the hero replies – proving his pure heart by being willing to go to hell for his dog.

Below is an excerpt from a larger painting he has just completed in his studio, celebrating the meeting of Balinese and Chinese cultures in a dynamic relationship. The good spirit Barong (partly of Chinese dragon origin) and the witch Rangda meet in different manifestations.

Budiana has also been a mask maker (topeng), a sculptor of sarcophagi for cremation ceremonies (bull, lion, etc.), architecture and artwork for temples – involved in a lot of community work. He also has a passion for teaching.

Since his childhood he has loved the Moneky Forest deeply, he told me. Many of the sculptures in the Monkey Forest were made by him. He always enjoyed visiting the Monkey Forest, connecting with the nature there and creating sculptures inspired by the spirits of the place.

I have been visiting Bali for many years and have always been touched by the sculptures in the Monkey Forest, long before I knew who made them. The sculptures are perfectly in tune with the place where sacred temple and wild animal meet, very specific, also full of humour and joie de vivre.

Budiana masters and brilliantly combines a wide range of techniques and traditions, such as the sensitive, clear-lined black and white drawing style below…

….narrative opulence in expressive black and white …

…ranging to abstract techniques…

….combining it all….

He likes to paint at night, he told me. Outside life calms down, a meditative atmosphere. Closer to a dream world, it seems.

His grey-walled studio keeps out the harsh sunlight. It’s quiet and peaceful, like a retreat, modest, no bigger than necessary. You can sense the atmosphere of very focused and disciplined work, but also the deep connection to family life in the compound outside – traditional Balinese architecture at its best, garden-like and rich in art, full of life with his children and grandchildren.

Budiana told me about his four children and twelve grandchildren, even some great-grandchildren. Now 69, he still looks as young as he did in his early fifties. He practices yoga to keep fit – and enjoys life.

Thanks for the inspiration, Budiana!

Text and photos by Joo Peter, June 2019

he Ngada people in Flores are still living in an ancient matriarchal society, where women are the head of the clans. When a couple marries, the man moves to live with the woman’s family and works for them. Houses are symbols of female power and the process of building a new house is followed by a ceremony, where men sacrifice animals (a treasure in archaic society), cooking and sharing all in a big feast.

Bena village is seated below volcano Inerie, close to the sea. Ngada people are traditionally animistic and worship their ancestors — today their old beliefs peacefully coexist with their Christianization by the Portuguese centuries ago.

I visited Bena village for a major event, the ritual renewal of a clan house, owned by the matriarch mother. The final part, setting up the roof, is celebrated with music, sacrifices and a feast for the entire community.

Proud mother of a clan in Ngada, watching her men rebuilding her house. Her teeth are black from chewing betel nut, as was common almost everywhere in Asia in the early days. Women in Bali used to do it, even Geishas in Japan.

While the celebration goes on, the black fibers of sugar palms are turned into strings and ropes in a few minutes, used to bind thatch for the roof. It is stunning to see how the old men quickly process natural materials into construction parts of the house, all in a playful manner.

Shaped like an umbrella and covered with thatch, shrines for male ancestors called ngadhu are placed in the center of a village (here behind Moses working on thatch for the roof). Their female counterparts are called bhaga and are shaped like a little house , symbolizing the sanctuary of the family home and the female body. Each clan has such a shrine.

In its matriarchal society, the chief mother of a clan is called Ine. There are also wise old men called Masolaki, who are respected for their experience and living memory of the culture, keeping the village and clan history alive through oral traditions.

The people believe that these megaliths connect them to the supernatural world and help them to communicate with their ancestors.

Tag: Indonesia

Budiana – art from the heart of Bali

Ancient Fire – Tribes in Flores