Dabi Arnasa Indonesian, b. 1997
Blossom, 2025
Acrylic on canvas
125 x 90 cm
Currency:
' I Made Dabi Arnasa—known simply as Dabi—pursues a more introspective and speculative path. His work gently nudges us to notice the often-overlooked entanglements between the human and the more-than-human...
" I Made Dabi Arnasa—known simply as Dabi—pursues a more introspective and speculative path. His work gently nudges us to notice the often-overlooked entanglements between the human and the more-than-human world. A Balinese artist currently based in Yogyakarta, Dabi completed his fine art studies at the Indonesia Institute of the Arts (ISI) Yogyakarta. His artistic journey began with an exploration of the dream world, documenting the dreamscapes of both himself and those around him. These early works reflect a fascination with the unconscious, rendered in surrealistic compositions that blur the line between internal perception and external reality.
Over time, Dabi Arnasa’s practice has evolved from explorations of dreamscapes into a deeper investigation of the complex and often ambivalent relationship between humans and the natural world.
For instance, in his one work, Dabi depicts everyday utensils, giant in scale, sculpturally shaped into the canvas itself—inhabited by tiny beings. These miniature figures suggest a parallel existence, invisible yet present, reminding us that we are never truly alone. Other beings may live beside us, unnoticed and unacknowledged, yet intensely entangled in our daily lives. In another piece, what appears to be an ordinary seeding tray is filled not with seedlings, but with small human figures. The substitution is subtle but startling, pushing us to reflect on our own fragility, and how growth, confinement, and nurture are all conditions we share with the natural world.
Then there's The Bigger Screen, a painting that features a lone figure standing before an enormous screen capable of projecting selectable landscapes. It speaks to our modern impulse to simulate and retrieve nature through technology, to mourn its absence and long for its presence, even if mediated. In Dabi’s hands, the screen becomes a portal: a memory device through which we reencounter the intimacy of nature, even when distanced from it. Whether it's a small phone screen or a massive digital display, these interfaces become emotional tools; allowing us to recall, reconnect, and remember that our bond with nature has not vanished. It has simply changed shape.
Dabi’s works, like Zikry’s, offer a way of continuing. But where Zikry’s Alex teeters on the edge of absurd survival, Dabi’s characters ask us to look closer, to attend to what surrounds us, to the quiet lives unfolding in the margins, and to the persistent ties that bind us to the world we often forget we’re still a part of."
Over time, Dabi Arnasa’s practice has evolved from explorations of dreamscapes into a deeper investigation of the complex and often ambivalent relationship between humans and the natural world.
For instance, in his one work, Dabi depicts everyday utensils, giant in scale, sculpturally shaped into the canvas itself—inhabited by tiny beings. These miniature figures suggest a parallel existence, invisible yet present, reminding us that we are never truly alone. Other beings may live beside us, unnoticed and unacknowledged, yet intensely entangled in our daily lives. In another piece, what appears to be an ordinary seeding tray is filled not with seedlings, but with small human figures. The substitution is subtle but startling, pushing us to reflect on our own fragility, and how growth, confinement, and nurture are all conditions we share with the natural world.
Then there's The Bigger Screen, a painting that features a lone figure standing before an enormous screen capable of projecting selectable landscapes. It speaks to our modern impulse to simulate and retrieve nature through technology, to mourn its absence and long for its presence, even if mediated. In Dabi’s hands, the screen becomes a portal: a memory device through which we reencounter the intimacy of nature, even when distanced from it. Whether it's a small phone screen or a massive digital display, these interfaces become emotional tools; allowing us to recall, reconnect, and remember that our bond with nature has not vanished. It has simply changed shape.
Dabi’s works, like Zikry’s, offer a way of continuing. But where Zikry’s Alex teeters on the edge of absurd survival, Dabi’s characters ask us to look closer, to attend to what surrounds us, to the quiet lives unfolding in the margins, and to the persistent ties that bind us to the world we often forget we’re still a part of."
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