Lovely Moonsters – Tribute to Balinese Quirky Characters

As children, we have been told of ‘monsters under our bed’. The story and beliefs about monsters have stayed around in general popularity for some centuries now as they have also ‘evolved’ in time passing.

The night is silent and eerie. The full moon shines bright and the cold wind brings shiver to the spine. A moment later, there is a sound coming from the distance, “Awww awoooo!!!”

Werewolf. Frankenstein. Reptilian dragon. Gargoyles…and comes Cookie monster! From really scary monsters to lovely, funny-looking ones, the Lovely Monsters Inc., obviously falls into the pleasing and lovely monster category.

In Bali, the day before Nyepi – the darkest night of the new moon – weird and humungous effigies of monsters parade in the streets of the island; and more so in the streets of the creative patch of Ubud. People of all ages join in this celebration to ‘confuse the bad spirits of the island.’ At the end of the procession, these monsters are lit up until they are burned into ashes.

The daily observation of the artist living in the ‘island of the gods’ have inspired him to create this series of lovely monsters out from personal experience of the popular culture and the tradition of the Balinese people in the perspective of their relation to ‘spirits’.

Done in watercolor and pen on paper; the works are truly Balinese-inspired with the intricacies of the designs. It reflects the look of a batik art. Most of the characters have a playful spirit and each exudes a different and unique vibrational quality in them.

The playful imagination of the artist has also made a projected image of the monsters in us – ‘we are funny creatures, aren’t we?’. Some people delve too much in fighting the monsters in us; in this series, the artist is showing us to ‘love’ the monsters in us, as he did with his, for sure. These works are shared to shed light and remind us to embrace in Love the monsters in us – as we have the ability to transform the naughty monsters in us into lovely ones. Awww awooooo!!!

Opening: 16 August 2010 at 10:00 am
Closing : 30 September 2010 at 10:00 pm
Venue : Cafe des Artistes
Address: Ubud, Bali

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Events, Exhibition