Born in 1956 in Pemalang, Java, Agus Kamal graduated from the Institut Seni Indonesia (ISI), Yogyakarta, in 1986. They Are Not Guilty belongs to a series from the late 1980s in which surrealistic images of decay and time-ravaged ruins mark an attitude of hopelessness in the human condition and a predominating sense of tragedy and pathos. The mother and child theme recurs in Kamal's work. His interpretation of this relationship, however, is one of bleak pessimism, which is exemplified in this painting. Here, a new-born baby lies curled in the dirt, an innocent victim of tragic circumstances that have bereft him of love and life. Kamal's technique is remarkable for his depictions of images in a hyper-realist style.
