Ocean Eyes

tiwi a r P : Citra y b d e Curat

A Solo Exhibition By: Laksamana Ryo

A Solo Exhibition By: Laksamana Ryo

Info & Inquiry: e: langgengfoundation@gmail.com Whatsapp: +62818467743

8 Agustus - 30 September 2020 Langgeng Art Foundation Jl Suryodiningratan 37 A Yogyakarta

Ocean Eyes: Of that which are Split and Wrapped by Laksamana Ryo Citra Pratiwi Laksamana Ryo (b. 1993) is a young artist who grew up in the coastal city of Banyuwangi, East Java, Indonesia. Ryo grew up with Sunday morning cartoon serials, “Emo” music, and Indonesian translated manga comics. Since young, Ryo has been familiar with the hustle and bustle of the home-based garment industry. Industrial life, labor and transnational work circumstances permeated into his local environment and became the life that he experienced, becoming Ryo's creative reservoir. Ryo's daily existence is closely related to that life (industry, workers and transnational work), creating a unique landscape that he pours into his art.

In this solo exhibition, Ryo ameliorates his views on how pop culture grows. Titled “Ocean Eyes”, Ryo presents a series of figures, exhibiting a particular eye style known as “Big Eyes” in pop surrealism. This “Big Eyes” style was first introduced by Margaret Keane in the 1950s. Big eyes visual imagery in paintings usually depicts childish purity by magnifying the size of the eyes.

But Ryo’s paintings are somewhat different. His figures are inspired by portraitures of popular icons. The figures in Ryo's portrait works tend to be satirical, despite them being presented in a cute atmosphere. The combination of surreal situations, based on dreamy desires and the subconscious, blends with the mundane and superficial, such as fashion, toys, games and superheroes.

Ryo's big-eye figure not only represents something naïve. These figures blend together the identity struggle between being local and imagined desires to be global. In this solo exhibition, Ryo presents industrial objects such as cotton flowers, zinc, cardboard, and fashion brands. This stylization was chosen by Ryo as a memento of his past, at the same time, Ryo's attempt to translate the meaning of pop culture itself.

In this exhibition, Ryo presents three experiments. First is the cutting canvas, where the canvas is cut and mounted onto hardboard in the shape of the figure. He installs these cutting canvases on rusty scrapped zinc sheets. Then, in his second experiment, he wraps his works in cardboard, which is then partially torn off, adding ‘Fragile’ stickers around the cardboard edges. The artwork can be seen peeping from behind the torn cardboard. In the 3rd experiment, Ryo presents portrait paintings of imaginary figures he’s chosen, adorned with splashes of acrylic paint.

Ryo seems to have built an imaginary realm of chaos; dirty and damaged becoming the aesthetic atmosphere. It is here that Ryo invites the audience to enter a space that isn’t singular, boisterous and mutually friendly; but in a sense this space is what Ryo experiences as his reality within our urban expanse. Ocean Eyes is a binocular of dreams, desires and imaginations that arise from hopes for a trendy, dapper and “now” life. Where are you in these paintings?

Mata Lautan: yang Terbelah dan Terbungkus oleh Laksamana Ryo Citra Pratiwi

Laksamana Ryo (b. 1993) seniman muda yang besar di kota pesisir Banyuwangi. Ryo, demikian sapaan akrabnya, besar bersama serial film kartun di hari minggu pagi, musik “Emo”, dan komik manga terjemahan terbitan Elex Media. Sejak kecil Ryo akrab dengan hiruk pikuk kerja konveksi. Kehidupan industri, buruh dan situasi kerja transnasional merasuk ke dalam lingkungan lokal dirinya dan menjadi sebuah kehidupan yang ia alami. Kehidupan sehari-hari inilah, menjadi endapan kreatif Ryo. Kehidupan Ryo sehari-hari yang erat dengan kehidupan tersebut (industri, buruh dan pekerja transnasional) menjadi sebuah lanskap unik yang ia tuangkan di dalam karya seninya.

Pada pameran tunggal kali ini, Ryo semakin mempertajam pandangannya mengenai bagaimana kultur pop tumbuh.

Mengusung tajuk “Ocean Eyes” atau Mata Lautan, Ryo menghadirkan serangkaian figur dengan stilisasi yang terletak pada bagian mata atau dikenal dengan mata besar (big eyes). Stilisasi mata besar ini pertama kali diperkenalkan oleh Margaret Keane di tahun 50-an di Amerika Serikat. Citra visual mata besar di dalam lukisan, kebanyakan menggambarkan sosok kemurnian kanak-kanak dengan memberikan fokus dengan memperbesar ukuran mata pada penggambaran sosok objek lukisan.

Karya Ryo hadir dalam tujuan yang berbeda. Figur-figur lukisan Ryo diilhami dari ikon-ikon populer yang hadir dalam bentuk potret. Sosok dalam karya Ryo memiliki makna cenderung satir meskipun hadir dalam suasana imut. Perpaduan antara situasi surealis, yang didasarkan pada hasrat mimpi dan ketidaksadaran, berpadu dengan gambaran hal-hal duniawi yang permukaan seperti fashion, toys, game dan superhero.

Figur mata besar Ryo, tidak hanya menghadirkan sesuatu yang naif. Figur-figur ini hadir berpadu dengan persoalan pertarungan identitas antara yang lokal dan imajinasi hasrat global. Di dalam pameran tunggal ini Ryo menghadirkan objek - objek industri seperti bunga kapas, seng, kardus, dan merek. Stilisasi ini dipilih oleh Ryo sebagai kenangkenangan dari endapan masa lalu pelukis, sekaligus, upaya Ryo menerjemahkan makna budaya pop itu sendiri.

Ryo di dalam pameran ini melakukan tiga macam eksperimen. Pertama ia menghadirkan kanvas tidak dengan persegi namun memotong sesuai figurnya dan ia tempel di rangkaian instalasi seng bekas yang penuh coretan. Ke-dua dia membungkus karyanya dengan kardus kemudian menyobeknya dan menempelkan stiker fragile di sekeliling kardus. Kita bisa menyaksikan lukisan hadir dari balik sobekan kardus tersebut. Eksperimen ke-3 Ryo menghadirkan lukisan potret atas figur imajinasi yang ia pilih dengan tehnik cipratan dengan cat akrilik.

Ryo seperti membangun sebuah alam imajinasi mengenai suasana yang tidak tertib, kotor, rusak sebagai estetik.

Disinilah Ryo mengajak audiens memasuki sebuah ruang yang tidak tunggal, riuh dan saling bertrabakan namun di satu sisi ruang inilah yang Ryo alami sebagai sebuah kenyataan yang berangkat dari ruang urban kita. Ocean Eyes atau Mata Lautan menjadi sebuah teropong atas mimpi, hasrat dan imajinasi yang terbangun dari harapan-harapan atas hidup yang keren, necis dan kini. Dimanakah dirimu di dalam lukisan-lukisan ini?

Laksamana Ryo

Laksamana Ryo (b. 1993, Banyuwangi ) is graduated from Indonesian Institute of Art Yogyakarta, Indonesia. He received the Gold Award – UOB Painting of the year 2015, Emerging Artist Category.

Selected Exhibition 2020 WHAAAAAT'S STUDIO OPENING, Taiwan 2019 The 7th Art Taichung, Taiwan Hotel Art Fair, Bangkok AArt Citizen Art Shanghai

The Beauty 60x45 cm Oil & Acrylic on Canvas 2020

The Gift 60 x 45 cm Oil & Acrylic on Canvas 2020

Popular Memory “Astroboy” 60 x 45 cm Acrylic on Canvas 2020

Popular Memory “Goku 60 x 45 cm Acrylic on Canvas 2020

Awareness 100 x 80 cm Acrylic on Canvas 2020

Popular Memory “Fantasize” 160 x 110 cm Acrylic on Canvas 2020

Popular Memory “Conan” 60 x 45 cm Acrylic on Canvas 2020

Popular Memory “Pixel” 60 x 45 cm Acrylic on Canvas 2020

Shop and Chill 60 x 60 cm Oil on Canvas 2020

Give Me One More Time 60 x 60 cm Oil on Canvas 2020

I Am A Princess 60 x 60 cm Oil on Canvas 2020

In The Name Of Happiness 60 x 60 cm Oil on Canvas 2020

Daydream Cotton 118 x 97 cm Oil and Acrylic on Canvas 2020

Slowly Heal and Grow 117 x 117 cm Acrylic on Canvas 2020

Take Me Home 147 x 95 cm Acrylic on Canvas 2020

Until the Peak 117 x 90 cm Oil on Canvas 2020

Fallen Seeds 117 x 97 cm Oil on Canvas 2020

Laksamana Ryo want to say sincerely THANK YOU to:

My Parents Sahyude S. Jamal Al Idrus UC Loh Citra Pratiwi Kai Guenzel Mustghifry Elang Sutajaya Sisil Decki aka Ali Ni Luh Putu Indra Dewi Anjani Fajar Amali Rizal Hasan Valdo Manullang Jogja Art Material Langgeng Art Foundation Artemis Art Kuala Lumpur