The World In Your Hands

I have known Lebah for 20 years now – a master carver with a modest life. Living in the rice fields near Ubud, tending his ducks every day, walking through the mud of the rice fields in his rubber boots. Hardly anyone would think that a great master of woodcarving would lead such a down-to-earth rural life. But that’s Bali, the real old Bali. Where the high arts are rooted in every village, it’s a miracle that originated in a complex historical evolution.

A Pivotal Point in History

One major historical event was the impact of Arab invaders in Java when the old royal court of Java and its elaborate Hindu culture fled to Bali, including the refined royal artists, dancers, musicians and architects who mingled with Balinese village life. Which, in contrast to the hierarchical caste system, had an ancient animistic tradition of equality.

Both sides combined and balanced their traditions in a new, unique and complex system, where the Hindu priest family is just an ordinary citizen when it comes to a banjar meeting, the forum of ancient village democracy, or the independent subak system, which organises irrigation and keeps the peace between the villages, all of which depend on each other to share the water for the rice fields, which springs from the sacred mountain area.

Portraits of Society

The major works of Lebah are portraits of society. Huge visual narratives with hundreds of characters. The projects were created for the Komaneka Gallery and Hotel, a concept by his cousin Pande Ketut Taman. His unique style has a powerful existential expression in its simplicity. He depicts traditional Balinese society with a deep and complex psychological and spiritual power.

Each character’s face reflects an existential loneliness, while at the same time being part of a tightly knit social network. Everybody has a deep existential struggle of their own, while all are interdependent – and all add up to a complex balance of Balinese society. There is a visible outer side and an invisible inner side in the mysteriously expressive faces, shy and withdrawn.

The narrative on the carved pillar called “Water, Land and Air” begins with the sea below and moves up the mountain, depicting fishermen and women at the market and ceremonies. The pillar is a crowded island, for in itself.

The Divine Forces of Nature and Creation

Another work in the form of a stupa, “Fullness of the Void” the metaphorical depiction of society is even more densely populated. The figures at the bottom are influenced by Bhuta Kala, distracted by the blind force of the body and its emotions.

Step by step, as one ascends the stupa, the individuals in the crowd appear less combative, less blinded by emotion, more calm and at peace with each other.

Closer to the top of the stupa, the characters become more and more spiritual and purified. The ancestral divine spirits in Balinese belief become somehow more abstract in the process of purification and liberation from the physical body, part of the divine forces of nature and creation. The stupa is a dialogue between Balinese culture and Buddhism. It’s an old belief in Hinduism, that Buddha is considered to be one of the 64 incarnations of Vishnu. Bali’s supreme spirit, Barong, is also an incarnation of Vishnu.

The Roots of Balinese Arts

Lebah is part of the community, a member of a gamelan orchestra. In the 90s, he had the opportunity to travel the world with his orchestra, playing in Hawaii, Texas, Alaska, and Canada, sponsored by Sari Resort in Ubud.

Wayang Lebah paints head of a Ogoh-Ogoh called Jeluluk for a Bedulu banjar in his studio.

Today Lebah is back in the rice fields with his ducks. He makes a modest living selling a few ducks now and then. It’s hard to make a living from art. I wish there were more sponsors and collectors who would commission new work.

As a carving artist, he is involved in all kinds of community work, including Ogoh-Ogoh creations. Lebah is part of the team of artists featured in the documentary in the making, The Goddess and the Monster.

A small private sketch turns into a touching depiction of society: community members in the grit.

Lebah represents the roots of Balinese arts, living in the rice fields, farmers in origin, dedicated community members. Let’s celebrate and support these roots.

If you are interested in finding out more of Wayan Lebah and his work, he is open for commissions in between working in his rice fields. Contact us at Sawidji info@sawidjifinearts.gallery and we will put you in touch.