while they still throw garbage into the river

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thank you all for coming

you can see more photos from the opening here and here

and download the catalog here  (right click save as 4.8mb)

Today’s world revolves around the city and its brick, mortar, concrete and
steel. The city becomes the shell and the people become its soul. The grey walls
become a place of interaction, a form of communication through colour and line.

Darbotz is an artist based in Jakarta, a complicated, hectic city drowning in
colours and chaos. His artwork converses with everyday pedestrians with its
largely monochromatic colour schemes free from messy complexities.

His images are filled with secret symbols waiting to be deciphered. Darbotz
rescues the dirty streets by transforming walls with captivating images of his
alter egos. The artist has a keen interest in symbolism in his works with colours
such as orange unofficially representing Jakarta and pink representing the
poisonous undercurrent of pollution in the city. While the colours sometimes
represent the city’s negativity, the pink is still beautiful and necessary.

Darbotz uses intricate patterns and designs that are almost a tribal exploration
of our primal inner monster. These patterns however, form complex and bold
imagery that interact with his alter ego the Cumi- a monster squid. Cumi needs
numerous arms in order to keep up with the wild and chaotic streets of Jakarta.

The works from Monster Inside Us bring the streets of Jakarta into the gallery.
Each piece shows how disturbances in the city and modern conveniences can
create a monster within us. The artist describes the brick wall as a ‘silent
witness in every city’ as it is transformed by each person who decides to change
it. Whether it is with posters and paint, or new construction and demolition. The
wall becomes part-monster contributing to the chaos of a modern city. And yet,
part-story teller, changing the stories on its surface over time.

Other key works display prominent characters in any modern city—street signs
and buses. Street signs are unassuming entities telling one must obey the way
of the city. If chosen to be ignored, signs become useless and the city transforms
into a monster functioning without order. The Metromini bus becomes a menace
on the streets of Jakarta driving with abandon while at the same time creating
pollution.

The Monster Inside Us demonstrates that chaos can be a beautiful and necessary
evil. There is a monster inside all of us and it can come out when we encounter
small hiccups in our everyday lives. Darbotz shows us how everything we
encounter has the possibility to bring out the monster in all of us.

Melbourne Intercultural Fine Art or MiFA as a new platform for contemporary art in Australia is pleased to announce their upcoming art exhibition with Darbotz “Monster Inside Us”. This modern, contemporary artspace will hosts the event as early as March 28th. The show then will takes about two months and will showcase his black and white images through various mediums and secret symbols waiting to be deciphered.

Darbotz “
March 28th – May 3rd 2013
Monday to Friday
10 AM – 5.30 PM
Melbourne Intercultural Fine Art
Level 1 – 278 Collins Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
www.mifa.com.au

click here for more photos