I Gusti Ayu Kadek Murniasih (Murni)

Born 1966 in Bali, Indonesia
Died 2006 in Bali

Art Gallery of New South Wales

Aku Perempuan berbadan kuat 2000
acrylic on canvas
Courtesy of Gajah Gallery

Jualan jamu 2003
acrylic on canvas
Courtesy of Gajah Gallery

Asik naik ke bulan 1998
acrylic on canvas
Courtesy of Gajah Gallery

Belum bisa lepas 2004
acrylic on canvas
Courtesy of Gajah Gallery

Meransan, 2002
Chinese ink and acrylic on canvas
Courtesy Collection of Konfir Kabo.

Jalan Santai. n.d.
acrylic on canvas
Courtesy of Gajah Gallery

Jangan terburu, n.d.
acrylic on canvas
Courtesy of Gajah Gallery

Hayalan 18 mei, n.d.
acrylic on canvas
Courtesy of Gajah Gallery

Main Sepak Bola 1999
acrylic on canvas
Courtesy of Gajah Gallery

Kembaranku 2002
acrylic on canvas
Courtesy of Gajah Gallery

Presentation at the 24th Biennale of Sydney was made possible with generous support from Gajah Gallery

‘I paint to feel that I exist,’ said I Gusti Ayu Kadek Murniasih (Murni), a survivor of child sexual abuse, a domestic worker from age 10 and, controversially in Bali, a divorcee. Murni, who is largely self-taught, was recognised in the mid 1990s for her striking depictions of female sexuality, often addressing feminism, sex, violence and death. Adapting the flat planes and bold figuration of traditional Balinese painting, Murni employed brighter colours over pale earthy tones, developing a style to reflect her personal and gendered experiences.

Explicitly sexual and occasionally absurd, the strange and disembodied bodies that Murni painted express resistance to Bali’s societal and gender constraints; the figures offer the possibility of a more liberated, dynamic world. Though she died from ovarian cancer at age 39, Murni’s unflinching interrogation of her interior world remains a testament to a life lived in defiance.

I Gusti Ayu Kadek Murniasih (Murni) (1966-2006) painted her pains and fantasies with humour and honesty: sharp objects piercing through erotic body parts, or animals and vegetation morphing into alien-like creatures. In her world, female subjects unabashedly embrace pleasure; amorphous, grotesque bodies transform from passive to active; and exaggerated erotic body parts appear alive and, at times, sacred. Together, her works paint a striking picture of an artist breaking free — from social convention, from the demands of the art world, from the pain of a difficult past and from the stereotypes of what a woman, a Balinese, and an artist could create.

Read more about the 24th Biennale of Sydney, Ten Thousand Suns, by purchasing the catalogue here.