Lebih dari sepuluh tahun yang lalu, Muklay memulai perjalanan kariernya sebagai seniman. Tidak sedikit yang telah dicapai serta dilalui dalam kurun waktu satu dekade. Bagi Muklay, perjalanan kariernya serupa sebuah petualangan penuh kejutan. Maka lahirlah gagasan presentasi tunggal pertamanya di Indonesia, Muklay’s Bizzare Adventure.
Petualangan Muklay dimulai sejak tahun 2013 dengan mengikuti beberapa pameran bersama. Menjadi pemenang ketiga di perhelatan Indonesian Art Award di tahun 2014, periode ini juga menandai dimulainya kolaborasi Muklay dengan ragam jenama. Dua tahun setelahnya, Muklay bekerja sama dengan salah satu jenama internasional sebelum kemudian lulus kuliah di tahun 2018 dengan bekal bermacam pengalaman pameran dan kolaborasi. Belum pernah sekalipun berpameran tunggal di Indonesia, presentasi tunggal Muklay justru terjadi di beberapa negara (di antaranya Singapura, Filipina, Jepang, dan Korea) selama periode 2020-2023. Muklay’s Bizzare Adventure adalah presentasi tunggalnya yang ketujuh selama berkarier sebagai seniman.
Penggabungan elemen warna khas Muklay dengan ragam ekspresi karakter olahannya tidak serta merta hadir di periode studinya. Terpengaruh oleh karakter visual komik, animasi, dan film dalam periode invasi budaya populer Jepang dan Amerika Serikat di Indonesia, Muklay menelusuri akar visual dan mengembangkannya ke dalam ragam langgam dan medium. Metode berkarya Muklay yang secara umum menggabungkan ranah digital dan konvensional melebarkan kemungkinan-kemungkinan eksplorasinya. Visualisasi khas Muklay adalah gambaran yang mempertemukan elemen-elemen brutal dengan aktivitas dan ekspresi karakter yang cenderung polos. Pertemuan kedua aspek tersebut dipenuhi dengan sapuan dan semprotan warna yang mendukung ragam varian gagasan mulai dari tegangan dunia fisik dan virtual, distraksi keseharian, hingga perihal diri dan keluarga.
Dalam Bizzare Adventure, Muklay mengumpulkan ragam tema yang menggambarkan bentuk-bentuk petualangan artistiknya. Pameran ini mengandung unsur retrospektif meskipun menampilkan karya-karya terbaru. Muklay menelusuri kembali perjalanan kariernya untuk kemudian mewujudkan visi artistiknya hari ini. Tidak hanya dalam posisi sebagai seniman, tetapi juga produsen konten, khususnya melalui sebaran di media sosial. Dua fokus utama tersebut bersinergi dalam langgam visual serta personanya dalam layar. Sadar betul bahwa keberadaannya di dalam dua ranah (yang seringkali dianggap) berbeda ini acapkali memunculkan reaksi dan komentar yang tidak selalu membangun, Muklay justru memanfaatkannya sebagai inspirasi sekaligus energi yang melahirkan Muklay’s Bizzare Adventure.
Muklay’s Bizzare Adventure merupakan suguhan serangkaian karya termutakhir Muklay sebagai representasi keluwesan sang seniman dalam berkarya. Karya-karya tersebut tidak hanya hadir dalam format presentasi ruang pamer yang umum, tetapi juga hadir dalam bentuk-bentuk serta objek yang mencerminkan tumbuh kembang olah artistik Muklay hari ini. Ragam kolaborasi dengan sesama perupa, pelaku industri kreatif, hingga sederet jenama nasional dan internasional telah memosisikan Muklay dalam lingkup kreativitas yang nyaris tanpa batas. Muklay’s Bizzare Adventure menjadi sebuah proyeksi atas upaya seniman dalam membongkar batasan-batasan penerapan olah artistik.
More than ten years ago, Muklay began his career as an artist. Throughout this decade, he has achieved and experienced a great deal. For Muklay, his career journey is akin to an adventure full of surprises. This led to the concept of his first solo presentation in Indonesia, Muklay’s Bizarre Adventure.
Muklay’s adventure began in 2013 when he participated in several group exhibitions. Winning third place at the Indonesian Art Award in 2014, this period also marked the start of Muklay’s collaborations with various brands domestically. Two years later, Muklay collaborated with an international brand and graduated from college in 2018, equipped with diverse exhibition and collaboration experiences. Despite never holding a solo exhibition in Indonesia, his solo presentations took place in several countries (including Singapore, Philippines, Japan, and Korea) from 2020 to 2023. Muklay’s Bizarre Adventure is his seventh solo presentation since starting his career as an artist.
The fusion of Muklay’s signature color with the diverse expressions of his characters did not immediately emerge during his study in university. Influenced by the visual styles of comics, animation, and films during the period of popular culture invasion from Japan and the United States in Indonesia, Muklay explored his visual roots and developed them into a variety of styles and mediums. His artistic method, which generally blends digital and conventional realms, expanded the possibilities for his explorations. Muklay’s distinctive visualizations are a mix of brutal elements with characters’ activities and expressions that lean toward innocence. This combination is filled with strokes and sprays of color that support various ideas, ranging from the tension between the physical and virtual worlds, the distractions of daily life, to matters of self and family.
In Bizarre Adventure, Muklay gathers a range of themes that represent the forms of his artistic adventures. This exhibition contains retrospective elements, even though it features his latest works. Muklay retraces his career journey to bring his current artistic vision to life—not just as an artist but also as a content creator, particularly through his presence on social media. These two main focuses synergize in both his visual style and his online persona. Fully aware that his existence in these two realms (often seen as distinct) sometimes provokes reactions and comments that are not always constructive, Muklay uses this as both inspiration and energy, culminating in Muklay’s Bizarre Adventure.Muklay’s Bizarre Adventure presents a series of Muklay’s latest works as a representation of his artistic versatility. These pieces are not only exhibited in the traditional gallery format but also manifest in forms and objects that reflect Muklay’s artistic growth today. His wide-ranging collaborations with fellow artists, creative industry practitioners, and a variety of national and international brands have placed Muklay within a nearly boundless realm of creativity. Muklay’s Bizarre Adventure serves as a projection of the artist’s effort to break down the boundaries of artistic expression.
(Pengantar Kuratorial untuk Muklay’s Bizzare Adventure, 28 September–28 Oktober 2024, Can’s Gallery, Jakarta)