Paradise not for Sale: Exploring Bali's Contemporary Identity through Art and Curation

Citra Sasmita is a contemporary artist from Bali whose work focuses on unraveling the myths and misconceptions of Balinese art and culture. She is deeply invested in questioning a woman’s place in the social hierarchy and seeks to upend the normative constructs of gender. In 2023, she was invited to international biennales such as the São Paulo Biennale, Thailand Biennale, Diriyah Biennale (Saudi Arabia), Sydney Biennale, Toronto Biennale, Hawaii Triennale, and Sharjah Biennale (2024-2025). She is currently preparing her solo exhibition at the Barbican Centre in London for next year.

Citra Sasmita adalah seorang seniman kontemporer asal Bali yang karya-karyanya berfokus menguraikan mitos dan kesalahpahaman tentang seni dan budaya Bali. Ia tertarik mempertanyakan posisi perempuan dalam hierarki sosial dan berupaya menantang konstruksi normatif tentang gender. Sejak tahun 2023, ia diundang ke berbagai Biennale internasional seperti Sao Paulo Biennale dan Thailand Biennale, diikuti oleh Diriyah Biennale di Arab Saudi, Sydney Biennale, Toronto Biennale, Hawaii Triennale, dan Sharjah Biennale (2024-2025). Saat ini, ia sedang mempersiapkan pameran tunggalnya di Barbican Centre, London, yang akan dipamerkan tahun depan.

Krisna Sudharma is an Indonesian designer and artistic director based in Bali. For nearly ten years, he has focused on creative direction and consultancy within contemporary practices, using tailor-made design to actualize the aspirations of multidisciplinary brands. His artistic direction is informed by Balinese philosophies grounded in the spirit of duality and balance, situating the world as it is, rather than how it ought to be. Drawing on the intrinsic properties of vernacular design and reflexive commerce, he forges visual identities organically, unbound by conventional structures, rules, or boundaries. Krisna Sudharma has led a series of creative ventures in the design, art, music, apparel, and hospitality spaces. Most recently, he founded Nonfrasa, a contemporary art gallery dedicated to discovering emerging and rediscovering senescent leftfield Balinese artists.

Krisna Sudharma adalah seorang desainer dan direktur artistik Indonesia yang berbasis di Bali. Selama hampir sepuluh tahun, ia berfokus memberikan arahan kreatif dan konsultasi dalam praktik kontemporer, menggunakan desain yang dibuat khusus untuk mewujudkan aspirasi merek-merek multidisipliner. Arahan artistiknya dipengaruhi oleh filosofi Bali yang berakar pada semangat dualitas dan keseimbangan, yang menempatkan dunia sebagaimana adanya, bukan sebagaimana seharusnya. Dengan memanfaatkan sifat-sifat intrinsik desain vernakular dan perdagangan refleksif, ia membentuk identitas visual secara organik, tanpa terikat oleh struktur, aturan, atau batasan konvensional. Krisna Sudharma telah memimpin serangkaian proyek kreatif di bidang desain, seni, musik, pakaian, dan perhotelan. Baru-baru ini, ia mendirikan Nonfrasa, sebuah galeri seni kontemporer yang didedikasikan untuk menemukan seniman pendatang baru serta menemukan kembali seniman lama inkonvensional dari Bali.

Sarah Mosca is an Australian artist and the Co-Founder of the DESA Artist Residency Program in Ubud. Her practice explores the relationship between photography and sculpture, drawing from literature and theoretical texts on photography's connection to truth, and re-contextualizing the 'gaze' within contemporary feminist philosophy. Her work addresses themes of sorrow and fiction, raising philosophical questions about authenticity, formlessness, and aesthetics. She has exhibited extensively in Australia and internationally, and her work is included in significant collections, such as the National Gallery of Australia and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Sarah Mosca adalah seniman asal Australia dan salah satu Pendiri Program Residensi Seniman DESA di Ubud. Praktiknya mengeksplorasi hubungan antara fotografi dan seni patung, mengambil inspirasi dari sastra dan teks-teks teoretis tentang hubungan fotografi dengan kebenaran, serta mengkontekstualisasi kembali 'gaze' dalam filsafat feminis kontemporer. Karyanya membahas tema-tema kesedihan dan fiksi, serta mengangkat pertanyaan filosofis tentang autentisitas, ketidakberbentukan, dan estetika. Ia telah menggelar pameran secara luas, baik di Australia maupun secara internasional, dan karyanya masuk dalam koleksi penting seperti di National Gallery of Australia dan the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Todd McMillan is a Sydney-based artist whose photographic and video works explore the futility of the individual in the face of nature. His work is marked by a melancholic tone and is deeply influenced by his literary and philosophical interests. After a decade of focusing on endurance-based projects, he has increasingly turned to the nineteenth-century cyanotype photographic technique, valuing its romantic and textured qualities in addressing existential and ecological themes. His ten-year retrospective, Ten Years of Tears, was showcased at the Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart in 2013. McMillan's work is part of several notable collections, including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA), the National Gallery of Victoria, and the John Kaldor Collection. Based in Sydney, he teaches Photography and Situated Media at the University of Technology, Sydney, and is represented by Sarah Cottier Gallery.

Todd McMillan adalah seniman yang berbasis di Sydney, yang karya fotografi dan videonya mengeksplorasi kesia-siaan individu di hadapan alam. Karya-karyanya ditandai dengan nuansa melankolis dan dipengaruhi oleh minatnya pada sastra dan filsafat. Setelah menghabiskan satu dekade berfokus pada proyek endurance-based, ia terus beralih ke teknik fotografi cyanotype abad ke-19, menjunjung kualitas romantis dan teksturnya dalam mengangkat tema eksistensial dan ekologi. Retrospektif sepuluh tahunnya, Ten Years of Tears, ditampilkan di Museum of Old and New Art di Hobart pada tahun 2013. Karya-karya McMillan menjadi bagian dari beberapa koleksi penting, termasuk Art Gallery of New South Wales, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA), National Gallery of Victoria, dan John Kaldor Collection. Bertempat tinggal di Sydney, ia mengajar Photography and Situated Media di University of Technology, Sydney, dan direpresentasikan oleh Sarah Cottier Gallery.