Dionysius Hatmaji [Labdo Grahito] (Indonesia) Residence: June 2018
Labdo Grahito is a student/visual artist based in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Currently, he is still attending a liberal arts college in Kentucky, United States. He is majoring in studio art with concentration in painting. He also works at his campus’ ceramics studio as an apprentice. Since high school, he had been worked with quite a few theater groups and art communities in Jogjakarta, one of them is Studio Batu. His works have been featured several times in some group exhibitions in Jogja, and once in Jakarta and Singapore. He is presently working on a project of illustrating a children’s book with his friend in the US. Labdo Grahito’s illustrations combine his own fantasy world and sometimes visuals that are borrowed from Javanese culture and his childhood memories. He is interested in mysticism and sees art as a way to pray and express love to life itself. Most of his works contain themes of personal matters and symbolism.
During my stay at Studio Kura, I will be trying to create my interpretation of Javanese folk narratives through my own style of painting. I also wants to use this chance to collaborate with the children from the area/neighborhood on making the illustrations. As an Indonesian who came from Yogyakarta, I want to present one of the unique art from my place of origin, which is the Wayang ( the Javanese shadow puppet) stories, to promote an exciting cross-cultural study and hopefully some fresh experiences to the local community and beyond. Yet, most importantly to me, I hope that what I will be showing at the end of this project will be able to simply bring joy and sparkling energy to people who come and see my illustration pieces. J
Websites of Dionysius Hatmaji (Labdo Grahito):
Wix: https://diondeniss.wixsite.com/rabudoguraito
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/labdograhito/
