In this series of work, I’m diving into the deep blue ocean. Meet up with some inspiring old friends from my childhood. This blue ecosystem takes me further than I thought. As I try to dive deeper, my excitement to play and wander beside them makes me to have no fear of the deep blue sea. And as I become drowned in the joy of curiosity, I find the natives of this blue world tend to behave like human beings. It is a world of fables.
— R. Yuki Agriardi
The latest series of works by R. Yuki Agriardi presents his artistic creations about the underwater world, showing images of various marine animals such as puffer fish, eel, jellyfish, octopus, whale, manta, and crab. Dominated by nuances of blue and strengthened with a variety of techniques, the series, titled “Dive”, appears distinct from his previous works that mostly present the elements of line, drawing, or object. The characteristics of his works have much to do with the nature and the phenomena of the nature, which the artist has adsorbed in a sublime manner. He presents them through tidy and orderly lines in the shape of a mountain or island.
Yuki, whom people generally know as Ewo, is one of the Indonesian artists who has brought a new aesthetic spirit into the realm of contemporary art practices in Indonesia, especially in Bandung. In the past five years, he has mostly been focusing his works on the grey area that is the boundary between art and design. Here he can present parodies, jokes, or memorabilia, as well as his respect or warning about life, or the adventures that one has in life. In the “Dive” series, a variety of marine species are depicted in different intriguing gestures; some of them might remind us of figures in the world of cartoons or of human characters, owing to the presented symbols and fables.
In The Postal Air Worker, we see a porcupine fish with a bag attached to it, accompanied by a bird. The Lonesome Actor presents a hermit crab going calmly carrying a mask. Indeed, Yuki creates such images with the intention of creating embodiments of human characters, through thorough observations and analysis: we thus see a mind-blowing multitude of shapes, gestures, and characters of marine creatures. Some of the gestures and shapes are associated with objects and kinds of professions, for example in The Rushed Hairdresser Party, which presents a school of jellyfish performing some movements that we might associate with the movements of hair-cutting scissors. Similarly, The Ravenous Super Perch shows a school of small fish whirling and moving in a circle as they are searching for food.
Naturally, the different personifications presented through the various marine creatures might hint at some general experiences, or they might also refer to fables or childhood stories, which we often find in story books. We can say that Yuki’s works today tend to gravitate toward the style of Disney’s animation films. Yuki seems to have the tendency of playing with his imaginations through formal movements and shapes in order to reveal the animals’ gestural similarities with humans. To be able to do this, Yuki needs to observe human activities as well. The various elements that he adds to his characters—such as hats, scissors, and forks—have adequately strengthened his characters.
For this solo exhibition at Inkubator, Yuki created his works using rubber stamps and stencil, with ink, watercolor, dry pigments, wax, and blue acrylic, combined with fiery red. He sweeps, brushes, rubs the paper surface, creating wild textures that are at the same time also gracefully controlled, as evident in The Rocky-Head Grouper. His work of installation, The Pincers Pace Platoon, in the form of an arrangement of crab models in blazing red, grasping one another, was made using fabric and hung in an orderly fashion. The work reveals a certain attitude and shows us how Yuki is able to create a distinct aesthetic experience, one that is characteristic of him.
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Seri karya terbaru dari R. Yuki Agriardi, memperlihatkan olahan artistik tentang dunia dasar laut , dengan menghadirkan citra berbagai hewan air, seperti ikan berduri, belut, ubur-ubur, gurita, paus, pari, dan kepiting. Dengan didominasi nuansa biru yang khas serta berbagai teknik, seri karya yang diberi tema “Dive” menjadi berbeda dari karya-karya sebelumnya, yang banyak menampilkan unsur garis atau drawing serta objek. Watak karya-karyanya banyak berhubungan dengan alam dan fenomena di sekitar alam, yang dicerap dengan sublim. Diungkapkannya melalui struktur garis-garis yang rapi dan teratur, berbentuk gunung atau pulau.
Yuki, atau biasa dipanggil Ewo, memang kemudian menjadi salah satu perupa yang membawa semangat estetika baru ke dalam arena praktik seni rupa kontemporer di Indonesia, khususnya di Bandung. Ia banyak berfokus pada daerah abu-abu, sebuah lintas-batas antara seni dan desain selama lima tahun terakhir. Hal tersebut bisa menjadi parodi, lelucon, sebuah memorabilia, penghargaan, petualangan, atau peringatan pada kehidupan. Dalam serial “Dive”, berbagai makhluk laut digambarkan dengan bermacam gestur yang menarik, beberapa hal cenderung mengingatkan kita pada tokoh dalam dunia kartun, atau perumpamaan tentang watak manusia melalui simbol dan cerita dari dunia binatang (fable).
Pada karya The Postal Air Worker tampak seekor ikan berduri yang di badannya terkait sebuah kantong kain, seekor burung tampak mengiringinya. The Lonesome Actor menampilkan seekor kumang dengan tenang berjalan sambil mencapit topeng. Citra-citra makhluk tersebut memang diciptakan Yuki untuk mempersonifikasikan watak manusia, yakni melalui pengamatan dan pendalaman: berbagai bentuk, gestur, dan watak binatang dasar laut yang menakjubkan. Beberapa juga diasosiasikan dengan benda dan jenis profesi, seperti pada karya The Rushed Hairdresser Party yang menyajikan sekumpulan ubur-ubur yang gerakannya diasosiasikan dengan gunting yang tengah memotong rambut. Demikian pula karya The Ravenous Super Perch yang memperlihatkan segerombolan ikan kecil yang bergerak melingkar dan berpusar ketika mencari makanan. Tentu saja, personifikasi berbagai makhluk tersebut bisa menunjukkan pengalaman yang umum atau bersumber dari berbagai cerita fabel dari dunia hiburan saat ini, atau masa kecil melalui buku-buku cerita. Mungkin karyanya lebih condong merujuk pada film animasi Disney’s. Yuki tampaknya cenderung bermain imajinasi dalam bentuk formal dan gerak untuk menunjukkan kesamaan gestural terhadap manusia, dan dengan demikian ia pun harus mencermati kegiatan manusianya. Berbagai elemen yang ia tambahkan seperti topi, gunting, dan garpu cukup menyokong upaya penguatan karakter tiap tokohnya.
Pada pameran tunggalnya di inkubator ini, Yuki menggarap karya-karyanya dengan menggunakan cetak karet (stamp) dan stensil, dengan tinta, cat air, pigmen kering, lilin, dan akrilik yang berwarna biru dengan kombinasi merah menyala. Ia menguas, menyapu, menggosok permukaan kertas sehingga membentuk tekstur yang liar namun terkendali dengan menawan, seperti pada karya The Rocky-Head Grouper. Karya instalasinya The Pincers Pace Platoon, yang berupa formasi barisan boneka kepiting berwarna merah menyala saling menjepit, berbahan kain dan tergantung teratur. Karya ini menunjukan dan menjelaskan suatu sikap bahwa Yuki mampu menciptakan pengalaman estetik yang berbeda dan khas pada kita semua.
Rifky Effendy.
