Budi Agung Kuswara
Budi Agung Kuswara
(b. 1982, Bali, Indonesia)
Budi Agung Kuswara, widely known as Kabul, is a prominent contemporary Indonesian artist celebrated for his dynamic and vibrant visual language. Born in Sanur, Bali, in 1982, his work often reflects the rich cultural diversity of Indonesia, skillfully blending traditional elements with modern and innovative approaches.
Kabul explores a range of techniques, notably integrating painting with printmaking to bring new dimensions to his visual narratives. Among these is cyanotype, a 19th-century photographic printing process that, in Kabul’s hands, finds renewed expression.
This technique involves treating fabric with a specific chemical solution and exposing it to sunlight, triggering a reaction that produces vivid cyan-blue prints. Kabul’s technical mastery allows him to layer and merge visual elements in complex, poetic compositions, seamlessly connecting one object to another within a single frame.
Kabul’s dynamic approach goes beyond technique; he weaves stories that bridge tradition and modernity while delving into the buried legacies of colonialism. His use of contrasting visual objects invites viewers to reflect on memory, history, and the tensions embedded within Indonesia’s colonial past. At times, he also incorporates artificial intelligence to imagine new faces, speculative portraits that question identity and its entanglement with history.
The Return from Anonymous Ancestors (Tiba Anak Cucu series), 2025
145 cm x 200 cm x 5 cm (unframed)
151 cm x 206 cm x 7 cm (with frame)
Cyanotype, acrylic, ink, gold leaf 24k on Canvas
This work is part of Tiba Anak Cucu, an artistic response to the enduring impact of colonialism on how we perceive history, heritage, and cultural identity. It specifically reimagines the narrative of Balinese women who, in many colonial archival photographs, were presented without personal identity, reduced to silent and exotic cultural figures.
Through a poetic and symbolic approach, The Return from Anonymous Ancestors brings forth the descendants of these women. They do not return in a literal sense, but through visual presences that are self-aware, graceful, and sovereign. The central female figure is no longer positioned as an object, but as a subject who chooses, reclaims meaning, and embodies a new state of consciousness—one that is defined by resilience and awakening.
This work speaks not only to Balinese identity, but also to the broader effort of becoming an Indonesian individual who remains rooted in cultural memory while refusing to be confined by it. It critiques the politicization of identity and the divisive legacy of colonial thinking, offering a gentle but firm refusal of binary constructs such as East and West, old and new, colonizer and colonized. Instead, the work affirms the courage to grow into a society that is whole, mature, and inclusive.
Visually, the composition blends Balinese cultural elements with influences from European and Chinese traditions—blue and white porcelain, lace, Peranakan sculptures, colonial furniture, and contemporary figures. These objects are not presented to reinforce colonial symbolism, but rather are rearranged within a reflective and spiritual space. They function as tools for reconciliation and cultural continuity rather than instruments of domination. From this convergence emerges a renewed expression of culture, one that is more harmonious and responsive to the complexity of the present.
The Return from Anonymous Ancestors offers a visual altar for future generations—a space to remember, to heal, and to reimagine ways of living that are neither traumatized by history nor forgetful of it. It is a call to rise with awareness, compassion, and the courage to walk forward with dignity.
Timeline
2012
Residency at Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Japan
Residency at TAKSU Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2016
Residency at Bamboo Curtain Studio, Taiwan
2019
Commissioned work for Busan Sea Art Festival, South Korea
Southeast Asian Arts Residencies Meeting, Taitung, Taiwan (international conference participation)
Voice of Asia, MOCA Busan, South Korea
(international conference participation)
2020
World Art Brut Forum, Tokyo Olympic Program, Osaka, Japan (international conference participation)
Tonight the Air is Warmth (selected group exhibition)
Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery (selected group exhibition)
London S.E.A Focus (selected group exhibition)
Tanjong Pagar District, Singapore (selected group exhibition)
Baroque Archipelago, Mizuma Gallery, Singapore (selected group exhibition)
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS:
Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
National University (NUS) Museum, Singapore
Tumurun Private Museum, Surakarta, Indonesia
Museum Azman, Shah Alam, Malaysia
URMU Museum, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Japan