Page 45 - Inner Gazing

I WAYAN SUDARNA PUTRA If we look back on Nano’s journey, we are invited to follow the route
Layer of Creativity of his creativity, a journey from outside to inside. This awareness
of moving from outside to inside, according to Nano, began
I Wayan Sudarna Putra, familiarly called Nano, was born on April 15, when he decided to return to Bali from Yogyakarta. Returning to
1976 in Ubud. Nano is known as an artist who takes a metaphorical his hometown, Ubud, after a long process in Yogyakarta was an
approach to his expression of visual language. In recent years, as interesting experience for Nano. Working each day as an artist
seen in his solo exhibition at Komaneka in 2010 entitled Unsung while struggling for social and traditional space in the banjar
Hero, Nano has been exploring his self-portrait as a form of community and his village, for example, creates the important issue
metaphoric expression in conveying his views of life and his life in of dividing time. But for the Nano it was not a problem, because
art—because for Nano, art is part of life itself. for him it was part of life; he never wanted to immerse himself in
the contradictions. He chose consciously that everything would
Nano explores the issues of his identity as a human being in various be beautiful if it was carried out well—because once again, for the
aspects and dimensions, whether as an artist, or in his personal Nano all real problems must be returned to yourself. From this
life, or as part of a social and cultural system, or as a part of nature. understanding, he began to present self-portraits in his works, but
Nano’s painting always presents layers, visual or thematic. Layer still choosing metaphoric visual languages. Formerly in his work,
by layer, he presents spaces of expression where we find his views Nano presented symbols associated with Balinese culture—such as
on the meaning of life itself. But, according to Nano, at the core of Rangda, for example—or icons and signs in popular culture. He has
the layers is the existence of something pure, unexplained, which is been using the visual language of self-portraits since 2010.
unrecognizable. He calls this an Unsung Hero, a spirit that moves
everything but at the same time accepts everything. Moreover, since returning to Bali, Nano began to see and be moved
by the dynamics and complexity of life facing the Balinese people.
In his works, Nano presents attitudes to a phenomenon that is Nano says that one day he was taking a walk in Ubud with his child
interwoven in his own distinct perspective, which is that all problems who was still very young, and they saw several rice fields that had
in life are a matter of how the self reacts. “The problem is actually been converted into buildings. Nano’s son said to him, “Pedalem
in us and how we react,” Nano told this writer. This is the conviction umae to ketuange sing dadi nu angon tongos” meaning, “Too bad
or basis of understanding that seems to move his creative process; that the fields are changed, there is no place to fly kites.” This simple
thus he often chooses the self-portrait as his medium of expression. statement from his son made Nano gasp. He realized that there
In presenting his self-portraits, Nano is not merely copying the were social problems facing the surrounding community and Bali in
objective reality of the face onto the canvas plane: there are wider general, namely, the conversion of farm land. This became a source
issues in the layers that he wants to present. The layers are partly of anxiety for him. He felt challenged to do something in his capacity
related to technical additions in his portrait paintings but there also as an artist to voice his anxiety about the rampant land conversion
appear layers that can be interpreted more broadly. In this exhibition, that has taken place. After much discussion with Pande Putu
Nano presents several self-portrait panels with different sorts of Setiawan (Wawan), an activist, and by exploring various possibilities
smiling, ranging from simple smiling to smiling broadly and laughter. about the media about how to express what he would choose to do
Each self-portrait is covered in colorful paint. He gave this painting to voice his anxiety, Nano finally found an idea for an installation
of multiple panels the title “Imaging”. In this work, Nano presents his in public space in the form of a sentence with which he hoped to
view of what “imaging” behavior is. To what extent imaging behavior arouse public awareness about the increasingly rampant conversion
is needed in building image or self-branding, in every behavior there of land. This was “Not For Sale”. Nano wrote “Not For Sale” in large
must be a duality of good and bad. But Nano chooses not to contest bamboo letters and put it in the rice fields owned by his fellow artist,
this. “Enjoy it, the name also lives” he said, laughing freely. I Gde Suanda (Sayur). Soon the work began to get a public response.

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