Kuncir Sathya Viku

IDR 30.000.000 / USD 1.765*

2025

100 x 120 cm
Acrylic on mulberry paper mounted on canvas

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ABOUT THE WORK

In this work, Kuncir Sathya Viku highlights the irony behind noble concepts often celebrated as moral or spiritual guides. Ideally, these concepts appear virtuous, elevated, perfect, and almost utopian. Yet the question remains: how are they actually practiced in real life?

Through a critical and satirical approach, Tri Konsep Omong Kosong draws attention to the gap between idealism and practice, touching on a similar phenomenon seen in the Tri Hita Karana concept, which has increasingly become a kind of “brand” for Bali. Everything can be mframed through Tri Hita Karana, but to what extent are its values truly upheld?

This work invites us to question the romanticization of ideals and to acknowledge the mismatch between theory and reality, a candid reminder that, in the end, concepts may simply remain concepts, and can easily become empty talk when never fully realized.

The visuals Kuncir presents are not merely narrative imagery, but also a reengagement with rerajahan, both in form and philosophy. He uses the distinctive lines of rerajahan to create new characters that appear to float in space while still suggesting a grounding in the earth and culture. These forms are inspired by everyday objects and serve as reflections of contemporary trends and social phenomena.

The medium itself carries deep meaning. He paints with acrylic on ulantaga, a traditional Balinese mulberry paper commonly used in ceremonial practices. Traditionally, this paper is cut into specific shapes, drawn on, and infused with mantras. In this work, Kuncir arranges pieces of ulantaga in a modular grid, forming a visual structure that represents the micro and macro cosmos. He reinterprets the working methods of rerajahan, in both technique and meaning, within the discourse of contemporary art.