Yoga Mahendra makes bizarre and richly imaginative paintings with figures which in turn are formed by other smaller figures and scenes. The grotesque images look hellish and non-hierachical scenes in undefinable worlds of fantasy. There are street lanterns jutting out through the anatomy of the figure, whose bodies appear to consist of roads with full of struggling, laughing, drunken, happy and sad figures scattered on them. Eyes are actually inlets of jet engines and some of the ribs are stairs leading to another different world born in the artist's fantasy. The clusters of the figures are pareidolias like the paintings by Giuseppe Arcimboldo combined with the absurb world of Piranesi.
His work particularly “I Stay” is a special work of art, inspired by his mentor Ojite Budi Sutarno, whose artworks many times consisted of objects in different parts, pieces and materials, assembled as one integral moveable sculpture or as a larger installation.
The artwork that is about 200x180 cm in size, consist of 7 painted MDF panels. Together they reminds us of Garuda, a mythological figure found in Hindu and Buddhism legends. Garuda is essentially seen as a protector with power and is shown either in the form of a giant bird with (partially) open wings or a mix of form of bird with some human features. Garuda is used as the state symbol of the Republic Indonesia and the Indonesian national airline is also called after it.
The meticulously painted panels have different shapes; one will see a head, a torso, a spread bird tail, a pair of wings and a pair of open hands. They depict a bird-like figure but with its bare bones, teeth and parts of the wings shaped like a pair of open hands. Painted on the panels are bizarre worlds and may contain comments on the social and religious life in Indonesia.
Yoga Mahendra some exhibitions and events in but also outside Indonesia, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and South Korea. Currently active in a local artists group in Malang called Portal.
Born:
4 February, 1982 in Malang, Jawa Timur (East Java), Indonesia
Education:
Desain Komunikasi Visual – Universitas Negeri Malang, East Java, Indonesia
List of Artworks by Yoga Mahendra
Solo Exhibition
2011
“Wonder Friend”, Puri Art Gallery, Jakarta Art District, Indonesia.
Group Exhibition
2018
KunstRAI, Gallery Lukisan, Amsterdam
2016
Singapore Contemporary Art Show, with Puri Art Gallery Mandiri Charity, Jakarta
Art Stage Jakarta with Mizuma Gallery Bazaar Art Jakarta with Puri Art Gallery
How It Feels” Mizuma Gallery Singapore.
Art Taipei with Puri Art Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan.
2015
Art Expo Malaysia by Puri Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The Collective Young, Mizuma Gallery, Singapore
2014
ARTSTAGE, Mizuma Gallery, Marina Bay Sands Singapore 2013 VERSUS, Mizuma Gallery, Tokyo-Singapore
2012
Bazaar Art Jakarta, with Puri Art Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia
2011
Money Culture, Garis ArtSpace, Jakarta, Indonesia
Bazaar Art Jakarta, with Puri Art Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia
We Are Now Open, Garis ArtSpace, Jakarta, Indonesia
2010
Group Exhibition “Javan Whimsy”, Utterly Art, Singapore
Art Expo Malaysia with Puri Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia KIAF 2010 with Puri Art Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
Bazaar Art Jakarta with Puri Art Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia MAGAININ”, Jakarta Art District, Indonesia
2009
Art Expo Malaysia with Puri Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
Bazaar Art Jakarta, with Puri Art Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia
Art Exhibition “Tontonan” di Perpustakaan Umum Kota Malang, Indonesia
2008
“Ilustrasi Sebelum Tidur”, Perpustakaan Umum Kota Malang, Indonesia Djarum Black Urban Art, Surabaya-Yogyakarta-Bandung-Jakarta
Awards
2008
1st Prize Djarum Black Urban Art 2006 2nd Prize Malang Mural Festival