Bayu Widodo

Bayu Widodo lives in Indonesia in Yogyakarta, a city long known for its art and activism. He is an artist, founder and owner of alternative art space SURVIVE!ga- rage in Yogyakarta. He is also called ‘godfather of mural painting’. All street artists in Indonesia know and respect him. On the streets of Jogja, Bayu Widodo has used his art as a form of political action.

Born in a small town of South Sumatra, Bayu Widodo moved to Jogja to attend the leading Indonesian In- stitute of Arts (ISI) in Yogyakarta. That’s when he found out that art was going to be his way of life. During his studies, he already started selling artworks. After grad- uating from ISI he started working as an independent artist and participated in various solo- and group exhi- bitions.

Bayu likes to make people think, he talks to people and then he tries to deliver his ideas on the conversa- tion into art. For him, making art is a way to express his thoughts. He gets his inspiration from what he sees, hears and reads. Ideas come to him when he is restless, not content. Beginning from observing, analyzing and understanding the phenomena of daily life in the form of social interaction and tolerance, it is not uncommon for shared contradictions and oppositions in one’s self

to arise. His works are about how the people live, about the environmental conditions, the problems of city life, illegal logging, but from his point of view and depend- ing on what is happening. Bayu Widodo is a visual artist using graphic art and painting techniques to critique political, social and environmental issues.

He doesn’t believe in one style and he likes to work with different materials and in different ways. He is a multi-talented artist and his artworks may take differ- ent forms: public art, screen printing painting, installa- tion art, murals, graphic design, painting, etc.

Bayu is now 40 years old and thinks a lot about the next generation, he really wants to encourage and help young artists. He does so by sharing his knowledge. Bayu has exhibited widely in Indonesia and abroad in Australia, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Prague. He often organizes exhibitions with colleagues from SUR- VIVE!garage, including his friend and artist Fitri.

Bayu is also an active member of Taring Padi (read more about Taring Padi on page 8, Bongky)
Take a look at our fair trade shop and admire his artworks or buy a unique t-shirt from Bayu Widodo.

Instagram: bayuwdd