TEMPO.CO, Yogyakarta - A gigantic canvas leans against a wall in the corner of a room. The unfinished painting portrays an enormous wooden ship containing various animals with a bleak landscape, similar to the tale of Noah, considered a prophet in Islam. The painting called “Bahtera” is just one out of the 28 paintings by Hendra Buana in his latest solo exhibition entitled "Kemilau Ramadhan" (Shining Ramadan) held at XT Square building in Yogyakarta from August 2 to 15.
In order to make one of his super-large paintings, Hendra needs up to Rp25 million (US$2,500) per painting just for tools and accessories such as 30 meters of aluminum steel for the frame, 24 tubes of large paint, and also the canvas.
"Whether or not it sells, well that’s just a risk I have to take," he chuckled. The cost of Hendra’s paintings ranges from Rp30 million ($3,000) to Rp350 million ($35,000).
The 50-year-old man is known for sweeping verses from the Koran on the top corner or bottom of his paintings. The West Sumatran artist mostly explored chapter Al-Mukminun, the story about the Prophet Noah, through symbols of various objects related to the story such as ships and nature.
Hendra has a ritual of fasting when creating a difficult painting.
"Fasting is to control my emotions so I become more patient, calm, and less reckless," he said. Hendra usually paints after morning duha prayers at around 9.00 or late in the afternoon after azhar prayers at around 16.00. Sometimes, he also paints after tahajud prayers around midnight.
Mikke Susanto, a fine art lecturer at the Yogyakarta Art Institute Indonesia, says Hendra’s work is a result of an exploration of three cultural symbols: Minang, Javanese and Arabian.
"He can discover new fantasies about local aspects and that’s where his distinction lies. But he’s too settled already and needs a new perspective," he said.
PRIBADI WICAKSONO
