Kala Api: The Age of Pawns

Estimated reading time: 12 minutes

Made Kaek’s Kala Api Age of Pawns takes us on a provocative journey of reflection. It is more than a visual hybrid of Kaek’s creatures merging between the two-dimensional realm into the third dimension. It signifies something more exciting in the evolution of Kaek’s creatures and inevitably Made Kaek himself.

The Beginning of Kala Api

The concept of ‘Kala Api’ first emerged through the paintings exhibited in Manus Collaboration in December 2023 at Sudakara Art Space. The first appearance of Kaek’s wooden sculptures of the Kala Api series debuted in this group exhibition in a gathering aptly titled ‘The First Supper’.

In that instance, we took the time to appreciate Made Kaek’s creatures emerging through collaborative exploration. Through ‘Manus a Conscious Journey’ they first took their first steps outside of their very private realm. Often dubbed mystical and supernatural. The dimension from which Kaek’s creatures emerge is a manifestation of Kaek’s subconscious.

The Reality of the Subconscious

This indelible mark of the creature’s characters may be the result of coupling between intuitive expression and consistency of a disciplined routine. The intuitive chargers of his creative process are honed into a well-formed aesthetic language depicting Kaek’s subconscious landscape.

Nightmares and Daydreams for Social Etiquette

The dark and gory undertones, of teeth and claws are captivating because of a childlike echo, giving us a sense of naivete. This contrary combination creates an ambient surreality that makes one unsure whether to think of nightmares or daydreams. However, the more you befriend Kaek’s creatures, they are far from vicious. They are sharp conduits of discerning observations and dry wit. Perhaps not always permitted to be voiced so candidly, by ‘polite’ social guidelines. Perhaps that is why they concealed themselves so well in subconscious albeit ‘supernatural’ realm.

What is beautiful about Kala Api, the Age of Pawns as a continuation of Made Kaek’s journey is the stepping out of the private room. Stepping out of the canvas, away from the curtains of ambiguity. The creatures are no longer silent when asked ‘are you real?’ They assert their presence and  interact with each other.

A Creature’s Irreverence

The images of disturbingly endearing and sometimes grotesque figures adorning Kaek’s canvases are now at a stage of pubescent irreverence. I’ve always suspected they were very humorous indeed. They now are revealing more and more just how sociable and unapologetically irreverent they are. Even in this new three-dimensional body, they are out of their two-dimensional cocoon but not yet a full-fledged butterfly. Like a semi-relief figure stepping out of the canvas and still yet to fill out all their new edges. 

A Solitary Extrovert

A solitary artist (as are many) in his process but social by character. The creation of art is inseparable from the artist much like a biological connection. Logically, Kaek’s works reflect this duality of the artist’s character. His creatures emerged in a world removed and independent of the world, much the way Kaek himself paved his path as a self taught artist apart from the crowd. Yet.. even the creatures in Made Kaek’s paintings are social by nature. Made Kaek is a very sociable individual and an extrovert. One who is comfortable and enjoys the intermingling company of others.  As mentioned in an interview with Kaek, he stated that ‘the world around me is my inspiration’. The world is a reality transmuted through a wild and private imagination. Imbued with all that are part of the cultural influences that make Made Kaek who he is.

A Growing Ecosystem of Kaek’s Creatures

Here in Kala Api, we see his world expanding, pushing at boundaries previously confined to the canvas edge. A growing ecosystem of interconnecting characters. From their debut appearance in  ‘The First Supper’ to an ‘Age of Fire’ there is a considerable leap. We see a basic hierarchy in Kala Api in Manus a Conscious Journey. Made Kaek states this was an expression of what he imagined to be the first gathering of humans in a social construct.

Social structures and systems of conduct are what the artist believes allow humans to develop their humanity. Just as art imitates life, when given the gift of intelligence and reason, through these systems, humans do not always choose to reflect their humanity. As this social system develops, it becomes more complex and perhaps deceptive. Kaek’s creatures did not take long to dive into the fray of social intrigue and dysfunctional behaviours.

The Metaphorical Chess Board

The Age of Pawns introduces a stage, more precisely a metaphorical chessboard. The title ‘Kala Api: Age of Pawns’ hints at chess, a strategy game, with a focus on ‘Pawns.’ Kaek’s creatures traverse a world of paradoxes and ironies that strip away social pretences. In a dramatic entrance, the creatures of the Age of Pawns boldly take centre stage, with their unrestrained drama being a significant part of their allure.

For example, let’s take a look at the first characters that greet us in Kala Api. The Honeymooners. The pair of red-painted wood sculptures are rather standalone. They differ from the rest in style and form. As all of Kaek’s sculptures are also derived from his world of 2-dimensional work, they were born in different periods of his journey.

The Honeymooners have a glamorous Hollywood flair, touched by fashion trends such as the beret and wavy hairstyle of 50’s glamour. The couple greets us as male and female elements. Made Kaek stated they represent ‘the beginning of a tribe, the guardians at the gate. Just like any beginning, a coupling gives birth to future generations.’

A Kingdom Awry

Thus, it is the coupling of these fashionistas that gives birth to the future society represented in the Age of Pawns. Whether it is carefully planned or happened by sheer serendipitous luck, does not really matter at this point. It is poignant and amusing that this performance of social satire begins with a pair of Honeymooners who are distinctively more Western/European in aesthetic. Is this the creatures way of saying that the current generation is a product of Western European socio-economic influences?

So the Honeymooners procreate prolifically. Giving birth to Kings and Queens, Chancellors, Generals and sycophantic followers abound. Not to mention spies and masterminds. All of whom play their own little part in this intricate kingdom that show how farcical society can be. It is a world of intrigue and power. As the title suggests, it is an age where many are sacrificed. Where the little guys, perhaps the working class, are disposable and used unapologetically for bigger schemes.

Kala Api and the Trojan Horse

We leave this metaphorical chessboard not with the defeat of a King but with the gaping grin of a horse. Kaek’s own Trojan Horse. The only one of his creatures skewered on several stilts. The use of a Trojan Horse is intended to defeat or subvert the enemy from within. It is implied that it is achieved by deceptive means.

As we enter Kala Api, the Age of Pawns, we are entering a world where Kaeks’ subconscious is truly engaged, consciously, in a social dialogue. By way of a dramatic stage with many characters playing their part. The mysteriously cryptic creatures are now commenting and testifying on society today. We are in a heated era. A time of consumption, turmoil and unpredictable energy. Fire burns and devours. Many can be consumed in its flames.

Perhaps once the door has been opened, the subliminal subconscious that has gestated for so long in Kaek is entering our world and showing us how grotesque and ironic we are as a ’society’.

Read a related article on the opening of Made Kaek’s Solo Exhibition ‘Kala Api, the Age of Pawns’ in Suara Merdeka Jakarta.