A smile on the lips, aka "Ha Ha" by Naufal Abshar
The European painting tradition bears traces of a superior standard reaching all the way for an ideal reality. In more remote corners of the globe, painting was always approached more spontaneously, it expressed the joy of creation. Paintings were more naïve, but also more real.
Naufal Abshar follows up on this tradition with his luxurious, spontaneous painting collages. The central theme is the current situation in Indonesia, and he creates deluxe painted commentaries on current events in the Pacific world. He seeks the origins of national identity, which are found in laugher.
Why do we laugh?
Is laughter always an expression of a good mood, happiness? The artist finds various layers of laughter. Although young (he was born in 1993), he is affected by the difficult situation in his native Indonesia. He has always been fascinated by art, and liked drawing as a child using any medium. Now he has enriched his artistic expression with definite testimonial value. He has a mission.
I paint to say something
Stressful times full of concerns about safety, enough money, how to avoid traffic and get to work on time, etc. One could react to all of this with anger, inner frustration, a feeling of burnout. But Naufal Abshar has different solution to coping with everyday obstacles – just laugh.
Luxurious humour as a mean so critique
His "Ha Ha" or "Hek Hek" can also mean a critical attitude or ridicule. Simply a means of reacting to what we reject. In the series of painting titled "Ha Ha", the human figures have animal heads referring to the characteristics we adopt from them. In this way we are similar to the animal kingdom, but our intelligence distinguishes us.
Inspired by great artists
In his profession, Naufal Abshar admires a number of artists: David Hocney for his bold colours, Heri Dono for his light humour, Nyoman Masriadi for depicting the truth using playful contexts.
Despite all his inspiration, Naufal Abshar remains authentic, unique and luxurious original.
