Singapore, Singapore Art Museum, Masriadi: Black Is My Last Weapon, Singapore, August 22 - November 9 2008

T.K. Sabapathy, Nyoman Masriadi: Reconfiguring The Body, Gajah Gallery, Singapore, 2010, p. 157, Colorplate 31, Fig. 164

Singapore Art Museum, Masriadi: Black Is My Last Weapon, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore, 2008, p. 10 and 100

Tony Godfrey, Painting Today, Phaidon, Press Limited, London, United Kingdon, 2009🌊, p. 21, Colorplate 27

The work is in good condition overall, as is the canvas which is clear and taut. Indication of minor wear and handling around the edges of the painting, but paint layers are well preserved. Under ultraviolet light inspection reveals no evidence of restoration. Framed.
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Well known for his vibrant use of humour and satires to create a desired setting within the paintings, I Nyoman Masriadi has amassed a body of works that may be viewed as a collective commentary on society and the people around him. The artist is largely influenced by pop culture, such as graphic novels, cinema and urban street life, with the artworks acting as allegories that are understood by a universal audience.

The painting aptly titled No More Game perfectly exemplifies the artist’s genius for building drama in his paintings, and is reminiscent of the virtual landscapes, and characters that were found in his favourite computer games as child. The work is a solitary scene of an individual resting alone with his thoughts, as the💮 external🅺 world is momentarily tuned out.

“The figure, the human figure is its own drama, its own theatre; it is both actor and story. That’s how I sometimes see it,” the artist said. “The figure is acting, is seeing and is telling the story too. It’s the figure that carries everything”¹. This is a theme that has coloured Masriadi’sꩲ entire oeuvre, establishing his paintings as being primarily character driven scenarios, and inspired settings.

No More Game is an animated depiction of a specific moment and place, conveying an energy that is unique to Masriadi’s paintings. He actively encourages viewers to place the paintings into their own personal constructs, and piece together the stories that inspired these particular scenes, and intܫeractions of personalities.

In the present work Masriadi has created a character whose physical form captivates the audience’s attention. Amidst the domestic disarray of the room, the man rests in a chair, surrounded by a collection of household odds and ends. It may be said that in Masriadi’s artworks, the background “…is not merely a filler [but it also] unfolds formatively as a spatial milieu”². With closer examination, book titles slowly emerge from the background, with titles such as “Life”, “Work”, 💞The Last Chance” and “You”, inviting public speculation.

The man who exists in No More Game is atypical from the usual cast of personas that are found in Masriadi’s works. Unlike the other individuals the artist selects to liven up his pictures, the lone figure that appears to have the weight of the wo𝔉rld on his shoulders remains a mystery. It is a curious case study for an artist whose oeuvre is influenced by caricatures, with the characters’ expressions a key tool in connecting with the audience.

In the work the artist intentionally plays with visual recognition. By hiding the man’s face, Masriadi has created a character whose physique intensifies, and subsequently, dictates the drama of the painting. The man’s slack posture fills up the pictorial environment, overwhelming the interior of the room with the sheer presence of his absolute being. Within No More Game the dialogue between the subject and the viewer has embraced new modes of language to create a relationship. “…It is not a rebirth [of aesthetics], but a reconstruction [of the physical]”³, Masriadi explained.

¹T.K. Sabapathy, Nyoman Masriadi: Reconfiguring the Bod, Gajah Gallery, Singapore, 2010

² Refer to 1

³ Refer to 1