Thanks for working with us on Vehicles For Change.

To begin, can you introduce us to your artistic journey and how your fascination with symbols and storytelling developed the universe you’ve created through your paintings and drawings?

I approach painting the way poets and singer-songwriters approach storytelling. The way I construct a canvas is similar to how they compose a poem or a song. I use symbols much like writers use metaphor, layering meanings beneath the surface. I enjoy hiding secrets through visual distraction, inviting viewers to uncover their own interpretations. The fact that a single image can generate entirely different readings from different people is something I find deeply romantic.

Colour seems to play an important role in shaping the mood and universe of your paintings. When you create these dark yet whimsical worlds, does colour stem from particular references, or does it develop to reflect the emotions and narratives as you work on the piece?

With my graphic design background, I have a conscious awareness of color psychology and how different combinations, tints, and levels of opacity create a balance between conveying a genuine message and providing visual pleasure. I think that foundation has helped me tremendously in building the narratives within my paintings.

There's also a quote by Pablo Picasso that I really love: “Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions.” I think that perfectly reflects the way I approach color in my work.

You mention that complex emotions, such as “despair, grief and anguish”, are fuel for your artistic process. What was the original emotional impulse behind your practice, and how has your relationship with that “fuel” changed as you’ve grown as an artist?

As a child, I wasn’t really given the permission to express negative feelings, so I began sketching in a comic-panel style as a way to process them. Over time, and through new references and experiences, those sketches gradually evolved into paintings.

The fuel itself hasn’t changed; it has expanded. As I’ve grown older, life has become more layered and complex, allowing me to dive into the soft tissue of certain issues and emotions. That deeper understanding has brought more nuance and sensitivity to my sketches and paintings.

As the compositions in your work are often highly detailed and complex, is this a deliberate reflection of the complex emotions that often appear in your work?

My paintings are built the way they are because I can only quiet the noise in my head by scribbling and doodling. It keeps me calm, and my way of sketching is much like the way other people journal. I simply want to empty my mind of the loud, unproductive thoughts that never seem to leave me alone.

You recently made a new piece on one of 4BYSIX’s unconventional canvases made of repurposed lorry tarpaulin. Can you tell us how you found the process and the initial concept behind the work?

Painting on repurposed lorry tarpaulin was an interesting experience because the material has its own character. Instead of resisting it, I tried to let it become part of the work. Conceptually, I wanted to capture the magic of Southeast Asia’s mystical rainforests, which carry a rich tradition of superstition and folklore surrounding magical beings. Most of these stories were never recorded in written manuscripts. They have been passed down from generation to generation through oral storytelling, allowing each person to imagine and interpret them differently.

This painting is my own interpretation of that mythical, golden rainforest.

What more can you tell us about the work? How did you decide which elements to include, and how did you balance symbolism with the narrative of the piece?

The main character is the boy in the center, looking directly at the viewer while listening to the birds. In Indonesian, there's a phrase, kabar burung, which literally translates to "bird news" but actually means "rumors."

In this painting, the boy is listening to the stories the birds are telling him. As he listens, he becomes spiritually immersed in the magical universe they describe. I wanted to blur the line between hearsay, folklore, and imagination, where stories become vivid enough to feel real.

You’ve shown a commitment to supporting emerging creatives and creating platforms for artistic exchange through the Atreyu Moniaga Project. As 4BYSIX’s socially engaged practice similarly explores community and the role of art beyond the individual, did you feel your work resonated with 4BYSIX’s vision, and what connections did you see between your practices?

I believe we all have an obligation to give back to the community that once helped us. As a young struggling artist back in 2011, I was supported by many senior artists and people within the art community. Passing the candle is how I choose to repay their kindness.

To me, that's where my practice resonates most with 4BYSIX. Beyond making artworks, we both believe in creating opportunities for others, because creativity grows stronger when it's shared.

Given that natural environments often appear in your work, do you find sustainability and the ecological condition of the natural world to be a regular or potential topic of artistic exploration?

Nature has always been an important part of my visual language, but not necessarily from an environmental or political perspective. It's more rooted in memory, mythology, and a sense of wonder. Growing up in Indonesia during the 1990s, nature was everywhere, and those landscapes became part of my imagination through both real experiences and the folklore I grew up with. If my work encourages people to appreciate and care for nature, I'm grateful for that, but my starting point has always been storytelling.

Finally, can you tell us how life is in the studio, and whether you have any new projects you are working towards?

Life in the studio is wonderful. Making art has always put me at ease, and running an art practice has given me a sense of becoming a responsible adult. I'm incredibly grateful that making art has become my career because, even if it hadn't, I would still be making art.

I have several exhibitions scheduled in the near future, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what comes next. Right now, I'm simply preparing myself so that when those opportunities arrive, I'll be ready for them.