Born in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Eko Nugroho (1977) is a young Indonesian artist fast gaining recognition at home as well as abroad. Nugroho’s visual language draws on his familiarity with traditional wayang kulit puppets and characters, and the cartoons and comic books that populated his childhood. He works across disciplines, from murals and paintings to drawings, book projects, animation, and most recently with large-scale embroideries. Nugroho is also the creative force behind a popular zine called ‘Daging Tumbuh’.To Nugroho, communication with the people is essential and he sees his works as a mean to connect with the public, regardless of place. Never shying away from the role of a critic, his works reflect and comment on Indonesia’s media-rich and politically charged environment, often through subversive criticisms. In this series of works, ‘Our Country is Rich but Poor in Morals’, Nugroho’s artistic style and techniques are seen in the illustration of the part-man part-machine creatures. These surrealistic creatures are his signature characters, usually displaying a kind of subtle violence as seen here.
