Citra Sasmita proposes a new cosmology, free from patriarchy. Artist from Bali, Indonesia, her paintings are the result of research into the mythology and relligious texts of the Asian country. With her works, she wants to overturn the normative construction of gender and question the way women are historically portrayed.
Self-taught, Sasmita has a degree in Literature from the University of Udanya, in Bali. Her contact with art deepened when she joined the university's theatre group and also when she became a short story illustrator for the Bali Post newspaper.
The story portrayed in her painting are all led by heroines. All the figures are female, a 'recoding' of theicr cultural heritage. Shades of red on the walls of the Biennale room and in the paintings reflect a reality built on blood, sacrifice, tragedy and hunger.
The circular installation of the Biennale invites the viewer to enter and be involved by the work and leads the eye to actively browse the paintings. "Despite cultural differences, I use archetypes that people from different countries identify with. They associate the elements with medieval art, biblical figures, Christianity and Buddhism", she says.
Translated from text on Citra and her exhibition at the 35th Bienal de São Paulo, 'Cheographies of the Impossible'.
Published in the Marie Claire: October 2023 Edition
