0 Caricature exhibition in Art Center

A major cartoon and caricature exhibition featuring the works of Bali’s five influential cartoonists was opened on Sunday night at Werdhi Budaya Art Center in East Denpasar. Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika officially kicked off the exhibition with special praise for the cartoonists. “You are a bunch of special people, the kind of people who can criticize powerful men and institutions in a way that will not insult them, but, instead, force them to smile and even to laugh at themselves. 

Cartoonists are a valuable asset in a democratic society,” Pastika said. True to his words, Pastika later spent a considerable time observing the displayed works, particularly the ones that captured criticism over his administration’s programs, and laughed together with the cartoonists who drew the works. Titled “Introspeksi” (Introspection), the exhibit that will run until Dec. 29 showcases the works of Putu Ebo, Wied N, Cece Riberu, Gus Martin and Jango Pramartha, the founder and editor-in-chief of Bog-bog, the country’s longest running cartoon and humor magazine. 

The works of GM Sudarta, the senior cartoonist for Indonesia’s most influential newspaper, Kompas, are also on display. The displayed works poignantly capture the paradoxes of modern Bali, an island reluctant to shed its traditional roots but at the same time greedily absorbing any glittering object offered by the modern, capitalistic world.

source : bali daily