Everyday Problems: Ketut Teja Astawa’s Contemporary Balinese Paintings

Astawa’s canvases feature a comic-like aesthetic consisting of outlined figures and two-dimensional, flattened perspective. He incorporates the traditional wayang-style painting conventions throughout, using precise details such as shape and shading of natural forms or popular characters from the Hindu epic Ramayana. He also infuses his paintings with iconography from the wayang tradition; if he wants to indicate that a figure is an important member of the royal family, then he uses an established symbol, such as a signifying headpiece, that would visually indicate this.