Mural artists livening up Bega's regional gallery building site

Renowned Indonesian mural artist Dias Prabu is creating a mural on the building site's hoarding, along with several colleagues - and a few local faces as well.

Gallery director Iain Dawson said council was thrilled to host Dias and his contemporary art group, Kultura Collectiva, in Bega.

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They will be spending the weekend in town, creating a mural to "start activating" the space ahead of the gallery's expected reopening in December.

"As the redevelopment of the regional gallery in the heart of Bega moves steadily to a summer opening date, we'll be providing a glimpse of what our launch exhibition will feature," Mr Dawson said.

"Dias Prabu, a mural painter and creator of batik tulis - hand-drawn batik - from Yogyakarta, will be assisted with his work by local artists Stan Squire, Mike Barnard and Ness Mercieca.

"This is an exciting way to enliven the building site for the new gallery. To have an artist of Dias' calibre here is such an honour and it's a great way for artist peers to connect with each other across national borders."

Dias told the Bega District News his work was centred around the history between the two neighbouring countries, a relationship that goes back centuries.

He said there were trade routes linking the Macassan people of Indonesia and the Yolngu people of Arnhem Land back in the 18^th Century - and that those connections were just as much based on sharing art and culture as they were about trading.

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Dias said he wanted to use his art to strengthen those connections in the modern era, educating children and politicians alike.

Although predominantly a mural artist, Dias takes much of his inspiration from batik, a technique of applying designs to cloth that originated in Java, Indonesia.

"It's a combination between prayer, love and respect for elders," Dias said of batik.

"It's like incorporating a prayer through the batik, it's ceremonial, it's about connecting with others, connecting with other tribes.

"I want to translate that into my work, translate that into new techniques with my murals, and strengthen those bonds between older and younger generations."

While the mural will remain for as long as the hoarding does on the construction site, Dias also has work that will be included in the first show to be exhibited in the newly redeveloped regional gallery.

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In 2014, Dias won a mural design competition at the National Gallery of Indonesia and his mural was painted on the wall of the gallery, where it remains today.

Since then, his mural painting has taken him to cities in Java, Aceh, East Kalimantan and the northernmost part of Indonesia.

On his mural journey, the motifs, patterns and elements he employs are derived from traditional art and culture in each of the regions he visits.

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In his batik works, Dias uses a traditional hot wax canting tool to create large-scale hand-dyed textile works.

The designs are informed by Indonesian folklore and legends represented by drawings of hybrid figures, mythological beings and contemporary refiguring of traditional Indonesian motifs and symbols.

"Dias has been artist in residence at the Australian Tapestry Workshop and last week opened a solo exhibition at Broken Hill Gallery," Mr Dawson said.

"He is visiting Bega courtesy of the Indonesian Embassy, 16 Albermarle Gallery and Art Month Sapphire Coast.

"Everyone is welcome to watch the artwork develop."