Interpretations about the origin of the universe by means of sacred teachings and tales about life form the general theme that has been worked on by many traditional artists of Bali. Artists in this genre usually do not find it important to create some personal expressions with visual languages that are distinct with other. The continuation of their artistic practices belongs to the belief system found collectively among themselves. I Made Sutheja is one of such traditional artists. But it is interesting to note - as we pay close attention to his later works, particularly since 1990 - that we can somehow disregard our earlier premise.

Just like other traditional Balinese artists, I Made Sutheja fills out his work area fully, sans visual discriminations, with repetitive components. However, this artist is aware about the importance of personal expressions in his work. I Made Sutheja transforms traditional Balinese visual idioms into a language that puts an emphasis on the relation between the collective Balinese idioms and his personal visual idioms. His work, Bima Mencari Air Suci (Bima Looks for the Sacred Water), for example, is clearly rooted in Balinese mythology. But I Made Sutheja did not narrate it using the common Balinese visual idioms. Instead, he took some fragments of the sacred tale and composed them randomly according to the character of the wood material. Bima's upturned position, with his head down and his feet up, not only shows that I Made Sutheja is denying the tradition of Balinese narrations, but also betrays Sutheja's personal expressions that is so characteristic of him. What we can then read from this work is Bima's struggle in finding a clear point in life, with the many obstacles he encounters along the way. In this work, the strength of the narration meets the characteristic power of the material as provided by the structure of the formed wood.

I Made Sutheja, who has been learning the art of chiseling since he was ten, received guidance from his grandfather-in-law, I Nyoman Ritug, a Balinese traditional carver. Sutheja's penchant in choosing uncommon medium for his art begun to surface when he studied in Singaraja, Bali. The artist was very much interested in used wood - in old furniture, for instance. Such functional objects were stripped bare from their practical values, and Sutheja then made them his source of creation to make new art forms, his own personal expression. Sutheja's work for this exhibition, for instance, is made from leyeh - a piece of furniture where one relaxingly lies down on - made of old wood. I Made Sutheja obtained his Javanese leyeh from the many art shops and antique dealers in Ubud. After Sutheja "dismembered" the leyeh, what was left was a plane of wood without a particular form. He then proceeded to have a "dialogue" with the wood; paying close attention to its shape and structure. During this process, he saw in his mind's eye various images appearing from the lines of the wood. Such images had also been built up by his memory of the Balinese mythology, a world most familiar to him in his spiritual and cultural life.

Hardiman

Born on March 13, 1940 in Sukawati, Bali.
Studied at School of Fine Art, Singaraja, Bali (1962).

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
1999 Ganesha Gallery, Four Seasons Resort Bali, Jimbaran Bay, "The Mythology of Wood".

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