Indonesian visual artist Banny Jayanata spent a month in residence at Rimbun Dahan in April 2025, culminating with a solo show “The Garden Bites Back” at The Back Room gallery in Kuala Lumpur in May 2025.
About the Artist
Banny Jayanata (b. 1983, Surabaya, Indonesia; lives and works in Sidoarjo, Indonesia) received his Bachelor’s Degree in Visual Communication and Design from the Petra Christian University, Surabaya, Indonesia, in 2007 and his Master’s Degree in Visual Arts from the Indonesian Institute of the Arts, Yogyakarta, in 2014.
Jayanata’s paintings explore the existential human condition, enclosing distorted characters in a melancholic tableau of impasto brushstrokes. This interest in the weight of life’s transience is translated primarily through movement in what he describes as a “living image”; his subjects are often caught in moments of profound inner turmoil or meet in violent collisions with other bodies. Jayanata’s overarching interest in the interplay between beauty and decay simultaneously infuses his painting with a sense of inevitable decay, where beauty is juxtaposed with the harsh reality of its fragility. In this decay, Jayanata finds deeper meaning, reaching for beauty as a kind of redemption and purpose in the face of life’s inevitable transience. In his paintings, Jayanata captures the essence of what it means to be human—fragile, beautiful, and inexorably bound to the passage of time.
Jayanata has participated in a number of exhibitions throughout his artistic career. His solo exhibitions are Black and Blue Mood at Museum dan Tanah Liat, Yogyakarta, Indonesia (2018) and LUKA at Independent Art Management, Yogyakarta, Indonesia (2014). Selected group exhibitions include Onsen Confidential: The Final at Mujin-to Production, Tokyo, Japan (2024), Basel Social Club in Basel, Switzerland (2023); murmur at ROH, Jakarta, Indonesia (2023); Identitas yang Hidup at Museum dan Tanah Liat, Yogyakarta, Indonesia (2021); Merayakan Optimisme, Taman Budaya Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia (2019); Virtual Territories at Jogja National Museum, Yogyakarta, Indonesia (2013); Works on Paper #2 at Aswara Heritage Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2013); and DEKA – EXI(S) at Biennale Jogja at Yogyakarta, Indonesia (2013).
About the Residency
Issues of anthropocene with its contradictions is my main concern, reminding me the importance of coexistence living between nature and human. Being aware of the complexity of environmental issues, the artist’s works may only give suggestions. I too am not giving any solutions on the issue.
During my residency in Rimbun Dahan I’d rather feel gratitude towards the opportunity I have to explore such a beautiful and natural place, yet which has so many challenging moments, like thunderstorms. Also there are moments of nice warming sunrises or beautiful sunsets near the pond, and birdsong in the mornings. I follow the rhythms of living which is very similar with nature’s dynamics.
The experience of living both in a natural environment and an urban city like Kuala Lumpur gave me rich nuances and inspiration to make some works. For example, a work titled ‘branches and concrete’, the last work I made in this residency, is an attempt to depict the antagonistic impression in the relationship between urban and natural life.
About the Exhibition
From 16 May to 1 June 2025, the works Banny Jayanata made at Rimbun Dahan are on display in a solo exhibition at The Back Room, Zhongshan Building, Kuala Lumpur. Go to The Back Room website for more information about the exhibition, and to read the exhibition essay by Ong Kar Jin.