Bali Tolak Reklamasi Photoshop Artwork: Behind the Process

It was nearly 7 years already. As I am now waking up again writing blogs to any interesting stuff (that nobody cares maybe, lol) regarding my artistic experience. I look back at one of the satisfying pieces of artwork I had ever created.

On October 19th, 2014 at Padang Galak Beach, Bali Tolak Reklamasi Art Event was held by enormous numbers of nature activists, artists, musicians, performers, and other creatives gathered in one large space for an attempt to deliver their rejections on the government's plan in a creative way.

Invited and procrastinate it, as usual.

I was one of the visual artists that invited to submit an artwork voluntarily. I was sent an email some days before, I think it was 2 weeks before the events.  I was quite busy at that time with my commercial projects felt pessimistic that I could submit anything. For making a totally "artwork" that freely communicates what's in my head, sometimes I got some art block mentality. Naturally, I was a perfectionist guy. Any not-so-cool ideas at the surface will always mean goes straight to my trash can of ideas without actually trying to explore it further. I was also thinking too much about these things: how to achieve it? how do I get the proper stock images? what technique should I use? would it be faster to do it in 3D? (even I didn't too familiar with that kind of software at that time). Yes, overthinking things whose solutions were actually just around the block or a simple kind of workaround instead.

These are some of my initial ideas that were scrapped during the process. 

Just create it.

I procrastinate until the very last day of the submission. It was quite a familiar thing for artists alike, isn't it? That day, the 18th of October 2014, I did not know where I got sudden energy and ideas to create an artwork. I let loose all my high expectation and just create, create, and create it.

I actually have several personal stock photos that I took some months before around my village Dencarik. I started it there. I looked at those images, I felt that they could form a fist. 

Some banyan tree photos I took in SDN 3 Dencarik.

A fist. Hand. 

...against machinery. 

Reclamation, excavator, human-made.

Fight. Revenge.

Those were keywords for ideas I came up with within my mind. I constructed the idea for the artwork quickly and straight working in Photoshop for several hours.

Technical Difficulties (Yes, that is my favorite Paul Gilbert guitar solo)

I have images ready to be processed but how to construct them into a fist image? The workaround was actually quite simple: just use a real fist image and use it as the guide for the shapings. Since I use the banyan tree root as the hand's vein, it was no surprise that these parts took the most layers. Each finger can go roughly around 8-10 layers, so for 5 fingers, it has a total of roughly 50 layers. 

I also use the real fist photo as the lighting and shading guide, which is just a matter of burning and dodging in Photoshop. 

As the fist shape is done, which for me, the most complicated part, the rest was just a regular workload in Photoshop.

A little detail but significant

As you can see below here, the artwork was nearly done. It looks great but then I looked at it again. What was missing here? The hand was too naked. 

And then I remembered that Benoa Bay was considered a 'sacred place'. 

'Sacred, Hindu, Bali'

I forgot this in the initial brainstorming phase. But as I was brought these keywords, I can quickly pull an idea of a temple guardian statue that usually sits in front of the temple. They usually wear a Kamben colored like a checkerboard. 

I have these images when I visited Pura Segara Rupek in Western Bali. The statue was in a good condition and so was the kamben so that I took a few shots of it. I put it into the artwork, adjusting some of its lighting and added some dirt textures to match the overall environment. Voila. I was satisfied. 

Call it a day.

Of course I was always want to add more here and there, but the time was ticking or I would be too late. I called it a day and submit it to the committee. 

You can also see the step-by-step process in my YouTube video here:

Reaction.

It received a positive reaction in many Balinese communities and I saw many people shared it that night I shared it. Even the local well-known drummer Jerinx shared it on his social media, which immediately boost more shares. In the end, this artwork became one of the iconic artwork for the Bali Tolak Reklamasi movement.