Indonesian Artist Ari Bayuaji’s Weaving the Ocean Exhibited at John F. Kennedy Center

Courtesy of the artist

Weaving the Ocean, an ongoing creative project launched by Indonesian artist Ari Bayuaji, has travelled to numerous locations worldwide and was invited to show at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the US as part of the famous RiverRun Art Festival from April 4 to 16. The project, started in 2020 and was exhibited at Nunu Fine Art Taipei in 2021, involves collaboration of the artist and local residents in Bali, Indonesia. They collect plastic waste along the coast, cleaning and processing it, weaving it into warm pieces of art. This project is not only environmentally sustainable but also established a resilient community during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ari Bayuaji “ Weaving the Ocean” at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore. 5th July - 26 August 2022

Born in 1975 in Indonesia, Ari Bayuaji currently lives and creates in Montreal and Bali. The “Weaving the Ocean” project put environmental sustainability into practice, Bayuaji hired local residents as his assistants, to help the people in Bali who are severely impacted by the pandemic. This inspiring and touching project has conceived peaceful and heart-warming works, which captured the seascape of Bali. This project will be opened on July 5th at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore after the exhibited in Taipei, Bangkok and Montreal.

Environmental sustainability project of artists-"Weaving The Ocean" by Ari Bayuaji

This 6-minute short clip elaborates how artivism brings the community together.

Living and creating in Montreal, Canada, Indonesian artist Ari Bayuaji accidentally discovered a large number of plastic ropes tangled in the roots of mangroves near the coast in Sanur, Bali. Thus, he developed “Weaving the Ocean” project, weaving plastic rubbish into art with local residents in Bali.

Besides putting environmental sustainability into practice, Ari employed local residents as his assistants, to help the people in Bali who are severely impacted by the pandemic. The works created in the project “Weaving the Ocean,” the colors are the original colors of the plastic threads. Regardless of the limited color choice, Ari composed settle and gentle color tone in these abstract works.

Through the "Weaving the Ocean” project, step by step, Ari leads the people in Bali to use the substantial power of art to change this town. “I have been sending messages to fellow Balinese about what we can do when business from tourism is no longer available. The answer is to be found in nature,” said Ari Bayuaji.

Ari exhibits in Esplanade Theatres On The Bay, Singapore

The Face, Charcoal on paper, 130 x 150 cm｜51 x 59 inches, 2018

Montreal based Indonesian artist Ari Bayuaji is going to present ’Self Portrait' which is a commissioned project by 'Esplanade Theatres On The Bay' Singapore. The art installation constructed with the sculpture, drawing, and painting works located in 98 meters long tunnel that connected the main building with The City Link. The show will be opened on January 17, 2019.

Ari Bayuaji on show in The Stewart Museum, Montreal

Bayuaji’s work on progress of sculptures that are going to be suspended from the ceiling as an art installation.

Ari Bayuaji is in the midst of the preparation for the exhibition in Montreal, Canada, presenting in March next year. Different from the past projects using mixed media to present, in this exhibition, Bayuaji uses wood as a main media, and matches some old ready-made objects, such as marble base, ceramics and even wood components that are painted and hand-cut on their surface. It is expected to exhibit six sculptures, four wall sculptures, two large installation artworks, two paintings, four photography works, and a video installation.

It is worth mentioning that, curator Iris Amizlev also invites Chinese Canadian visual artist Hua Jin to exhibit with Bayuaji in "Flowers and Monsters" exhibition. Jin’s works focuses on a worldview that embraces the concept of transience: of time, of life, and of everyday objects. Although both artists have settled in Montreal for a long time, the content of their creations have not been fully westernized, so we can still expect to see the oriental philosophy between different medias in the exhibition.

Ari Bayuaji's New Residiency Invited by the Symposium international d'art contemporain de Baie-Saint-Paul

Invited by Symposium internationald'art contemporain de Baie-Saint-Paul in Quebec, Canada, artist Ari Bayuaji is participating in another one-month residency from July 27 to August 28 with new works and art forums produced together with other eleven artists coming from America, Canada, and Europe.
　　　
Each year, the Symposium invites twelve artists from different countries, generations and from various disciplines to create artworks on a chosen theme. In the meantime, events like art studios and art conferences also take place to provide platforms where the artists, art critics, and curators can exchange ideas on culture and art. With the 36th project being held, the Symposium has attracted more than 500 creators from Europe, the United States, Asia and Africa to participate, including renown contemporary artists such as Raymonde April, René Derouin, Marc Séguin, and Françoise Sullivan. The theme of the Symposium in 2018 is “Art and Politics,” based on which the invited artists will discuss issues regarding Political turmoil, climate changes, gender equality, social inclusion and so on by using their intuitive and keen insights to reveal the relationships between art and politics.
　　　　
During this residency, Ari Bayuaji plans to create installation works that imitate “doors”, with drawings, paintings and original door parts collected from various places poetically attached to three panels. Growing up in a country where doors not only stand for protection and security, but are also reminders of politeness and manners for people would have to bow and bend down when entering another’s houses, Bayuaji takes the images of doors as his approach to deliver the concept of adaptation in this politically unstable world. Seeing doors as a symbol for the connection among people, opposite to walls that divide and set boundaries, the artist creates doors to focus on the brighter side of immigration while illuminating the many challenges people have to face before they find a haven safety. With his proficiency in revealing cross-cultural phenomena while embracing diversity, Bayuaji seeks to open up discussions on important global issues through his works of art.

Ari Bayuaji's Installation Work Collected by Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

Silence, 2014, Wood, acrylic paint, transparent thread, size variable                 

Photo Credit: Ari Bayuaji‘s website

Supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Montreal Museum of Fine Art (MMFA) has launched their new project “Collections, Connexions et Reconnexions” as an open call for contemporary creations along with exhibitions presenting seven commissioned works to the public. Among the seven artists commissioned by MMFA, Ari Bayuaji was recognized for being an artistic representative of culture diversity, and will display his commissioned work as a solo show simultaneously held with the event. Seven works brought by these artists will take inspirations from the collections of the MMFA, and be dedicated to the cultures of the world. The exhibition will be opened on September 6, 2018 and will stay in the exhibition space until the 'New World Pavilion' is ready in summer 2019.
 
Being one of the seven, Ari Bayuaji is invited to present his installation work “Silence” in the solo show. The amazing work composed of 1400 pieces of wood, coated inacrylic paint of different colors and suspended from the ceiling, was commissioned firstly by The Esplanade Theatre by The Bay Singapore in 2014 for the International Sacred Music Festival. This installation work has recently been collected by the MMFA, and will be displayed during the “Collections, Connexions et Reconnexions” show with the old artefacts as part of the museum permanent collection.