Made Bayak

Bali, Indonesia

Made Bayak, melalui karya seni rupa yang cukup dikenal secara luas yaitu serie “Plasticology”, juga menempatkan dirinya pada konsistensi upaya penyadaran kritis akan limbah plastic sebagai persoalan krisis, khususnya bagi Pulau Bali. Pada karya-karya plasticology yang lahir dari pemaknaan kata plastik dan ekologi ini ia lebih menggunakan kesadaran empiris ketimbang kepiawaian teknis dan artistic untuk dimunculkan, meskipun pada kenyataannya estetika sangat terjaga apik dalam karyanya. Karya seni Bayak yang menggunakan limbah sampah plastik menjadi sarat akan pesan penuh makna, dari filosofi yang bersandar pada tradisi dan budaya Bali serta respond sosial yang ada, menjadikan problematika plastik sangat lentur untuk dikomunikasikan ke ruang publik.

Made Bayak sebagai seniman terbilang sangat peka terhadap kondisi Bali sebagai pulau kelahiran, dan dimana ia tumbuh berkembang serta menetap sampai saat ini. Bayak banyak melakukan aksi seninya sebagai bentuk kesadaran dan perlawanan bagaimana menjaga dan merawat planet bumi ini lebih baik. Karya-karya seni rupa, happening art, musik rock garis keras, serta keterlibatannya terhadap banyak aksi bersama komunitas dan NGO mencatatkan dirinya sebagai seniman kontemporer Bali yang sangat progresif, dan aktif mengkritisi bahkan terbilang provokatif untuk mengajak orang peduli pada Bali.

Bayak dalam pameran krisis juga menampilkan seni instalasi, pada karya instalasi sangat terlihat bagaimana ia ingin membangun dan menafsirkan ulang pengetahuan dari simbol-simbol tradisi Bali. Simbol-simbol itu adalah caranya untuk menghadirkan kekuatan filosofi dan mitologi tradisi dan budaya Bali untuk berbicara melihat “crisis”. Melalui cara kerjanya yang inovatif, ia menyadari bahwa praktik berkeseniannya sangat terkait erat  dengan kehidupan tradisi dengan kepercayaan sebagai sebuah praktik di masyarakat. Bayak juga lebih tertarik dalam penciptaan dialog yang dinamis antara masa lalu dan masa kini, dan sesungguhnya ini adalah pergulatan dirinya yang mewakili perjuangan identitas Bali bagi dunia.

Made Bayak, through his widely known artworks, the ‘Plasticology’ series, also positions himself amidst efforts to raise critical awareness of plastic waste as a critical issue and threat, especially for the island of Bali. In his plasticology works, born from the combined meanings of the words plastic and ecology, Bayak uses empirical awareness rather than technical and artistic expertise, although in reality aesthetics are perfectly well maintained in his works. Bayak’s artworks featuring plastic waste are filled with meaningful messages, containing philosophical ideas based on Balinese tradition and culture, as well as more contemporary social responses, providing a wide range of opportunities to present the plastic problem to the public space.

Made Bayak, as an artist, is known to be particularly sensitive to the conditions of Bali as the island of his birth, and where he grew up and continues to call ‘home’. Bayak does a lot of his art as a form of awareness and sometimes as an act of resistance in consideration of what he feels to be his duty to better protect and care for planet earth. His works of fine art, happening art, hard rock music, together with his involvement in various actions with communities and NGOs, have established him as a particularly progressive and critically active Balinese contemporary artist, considered by some to be provocative in his efforts to encourage people to care about Bali.

Among his various works, Bayak is also showing installation art in the Crisis exhibition, in which it is clear to see his desire to build and reinterpret knowledge inherent in Balinese traditional symbols. These symbols are his way of presenting the power of philosophy and the mythology of Balinese tradition and culture in order to communicate the idea of ‘crisis’. Through his innovative way of working, he has come to the realisation that his artistic practice is very closely related to traditional life and the beliefs shared and practiced in Balinese society. Bayak is also more interested in creating a dynamic dialogue between the past and the present, and for him this is also something that mirrors the ongoing struggle for identity faced by the Balinese.

Legal Alien

70x60cm

Natural color, 24 karat gold color and plastic trash on recycle paper

2021

Legal Alien II

70x60cm

Natural color, 24 karat gold color and plastic trash on recycle paper

2021

Scan Me I Am Legal Alien

70x60cm

Natural color, 24 karat gold color and plastic trash on recycle paper

2021

New myth, Plasticology Painting Series

75cm2

Natural color, 24 karat gold color and plastic trash on recycle paper

2022

New myth, Plasticology Painting Series

75cm2

Natural color, 24 karat gold color and plastic trash on recycle paper

2022

New Myth Plasticology painting series, 2022

100x140cm

acrylic paint, natural color, 24K gold color, plastic waste, mirror, QR code print and cut, recycle paper on printed fabric

2021

Artwork

CURATED BY

YUDHA BANTONO & JEAN COUTEAU