The market, it might be said, is closely related with the female world, as the buying and selling activities there are always connected with household's domestic needs. Meat, vegetables, and spices become the main commodities in the market. In this female domain, Dwa Ngk. Ardana is physically present every day, from shortly after midnight at two until six in the morning. The male painter is there not to "hunt" for the objects for his paintings, but to become a part of the daily market activity. Dewa Ngk. Ardana is actually an onion-seller in the traditional market of Badung, Denpasar, Bali. He has been selling onions since he was still in junior high. He is now a senior visual art student at the Fine Art Institute in Denpasar. And he is still selling onions in the same market.

Since one year ago, Dewa Ngk. Ardana has been working intensely on the theme of onions in his paintings. Prior to that, he had been busy exploring religious themes. Gradually, as his artistic conviction about such "grand" theme started to dwindle, he began to leave those religious themes behind. He admits that he felt uncomfortable to explore religious icons and matters in his paintings. For him, the best theme is the one closest to his daily life. Onions are the most familiar object for him that give him the basic understanding and awareness about his jagat alit (microcosm) and jagat ageng (macrocosm) surrounding his being. It is precisely with such cosmological aspect that Dewa Ngk. Ardana's paintings fits into place.

Now, there are many artists--at least in Dewa Ngk. Ardana's own environment in Bali--who are exploring "grand" themes in their paintings by, for example, showing up their Balinese cultural icons with flair. Dewa Ngk. Ardana is precisely steering away from such trend. It seems that he wants to create a dichotomy of sorts with the other artists around him. He had studied himself and his vicinity closely, and found that onions were the objects most familiar to him. In his house, his studio, and even his room--onions are scattered everywhere. On he analyzes layer upon layer of the onions; often he is forced to use magnifying glass to be able to see the onions in details.

Two of Dewa Ngk. Ardana's paintings exhibited in this open biennale betray the close relationship of the painter and his subject matter. Note how the dry skins of the garlic are presented aggressively before our eyes. The depiction becomes even stronger as the size of the garlic is blown up greatly. The dry skins and the rotten parts are depicted in rich details. Some kind of terror leaps and hits our sight with the object's physical and natural truth. The "terror" is even more powerful as the garlic is painted against an empty background. The white or blue background makes the garlic seem closer to us. For Dewa Ngk. Ardana, garlic and onions are no petty affairs--they present for him visual matters, and matters about his being.

Hardiman

Born on March 4, 1980 in Semarapura.
Studies at Indonesia Art Academy (STSI), Denpasar.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
1999 "Democracies", Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah (Regional Parliament), Bali.
2000 "Rare 99", Bali Public Museum, Denpasar.
2002 "ATTENTION", Matamera Communication, Bali.
2003 "Watch Out! There's A Taxu Ceremony", Gallery of Taxu Art Clinic, Bali.

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