The Fire Fighters (Burning House)

I Wayan Bendi (1950) was born in Batuan, Indonesia and had learnt the art of painting from his father, I Wayan Taweng. Having grown up during the 1950s and 1960s, he witnessed the intense physical and social changes taking place in Bali. These had an impact on his artistic language. One of the most well known Balinese artists, Bendi is based in Batuan, near Ubud. In Bendi's paintings, mythology, history, tradition, and contemporary realities merge to form a crowded and chaotic landscape. Such compositional features of his works bear the influence from the Ubud style, which has in the past concentrated on themes of mythology and Balinese life. Although his works often depict historical events, these events seem to be played out in a contemporary Balinese setting; with modern vehicles, tourists with cameras and touts with their trinkets. The result is a scene generous with humour, belying interests in the concepts of the past, Bali as a spectacle, and potent commentaries on society. In 'The Fire Fighters (Burning House)' the artist contrasts the tourists relaxing and enjoying themselves in the sea and the locals, running for their lives, away from the burning house in the packed street.