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About the artwork

In the past, Indonesia was both a maritime and agrarian society. Sea travellers depended on the stars in the night sky to navigate when they are sailing and farmers used the sky to decide the right time to start cultivation. Today, societies associate date of births to star constellations called Zodiac; some believe that destinies are tied to the stars. People in general look up to other successful individuals and see them as role models. Thus, in this piece, I have selected influential figures that have impacted Indonesia and the world. I maximize the faces composition of the figures in my painting according to their zodiacs. In my opinion, Starry Night Over the Sea Side is a kind of self-reflection in my direction and purpose in life among society.

About the artist

Purwanto was born in Jember, East Java in 1977. He was interested in Visual Art since Junior High School and started to teach himself art after graduating. He began to paint during his school days at SMAN I Ambulu ( National Senior High School I) and won some Visual Art competitions which were held by Kiss FM, a radio station in Jember. After graduating from Senior High School, he joined his art teacher to establish ” Panji Laras," an art workshop, and eventually pursued arts at ISI Yogyakarta. In 2012, he saw Thomas Ott’s scratchboard comics and started to explore the scratching technique on canvas. The sheer amount of random composition of thousands scratching lines seems to suggest that people be more patient and careful in reading and rereading the various nuances of social cultures that exist in humanity.