Nyoman Pasek, the Hieronymus Bosch of Bali

Nyoman Pasek, the Hieronymus Bosch of Bali. He was a mysterious man, little is known about him: I Nyoman Pasek, a unique, eccentric genius among Ubud artists who died a few years ago. I met him a few times. His studio was on Jalan Raya Ubud, Banjar Kutuh, near Peliatan and he visited one of my exhibitions. With artist friends in Peliatan in 2010. I Nyoman Pasek was always very shy and modest, and at the same time very conscious of the value of his art, which he didn’t like to sell (except in a few cases for a good high price) or even to be photographed, with few exceptions.

Once his son asked him about the meaning of the paintings. “It’s all in the picture”, his father replied “all you need to know is in the picture”. In the mysterious answer of his father was also resonating: all you need to know about life is in the picture.

The Uniqueness of Pasek

The paintings are untitled, Pasek considered the signature not to be important. Today it’s very rare to find his work, or even a photograph of it, so I cherish the pictures I was allowed to take.

Playful surreal and often comical in narrative and mood, at the same time deeply spiritual,  insightful, moving and transformative: His paintings in old black and white colour with ink and bamboo stick are crowded with spirits, depicting a Balinese spiritual cosmos rooted in ancient animistic belief older than Hinduism. The visual storytelling never is arbitrary, an inner necessity lies in the pictorial inventions. We feel carried away into another world, enriching, revealing, nourishing, elevating. Our senses enhance. At the same time there is a satirical humour in his work.

Dante’s Divine Comedy comes to my mind. His visions go deep into the heart and you can feel truth in it. I remember one of his paintings showed the soul of a deceased balancing on a rope from hell to divine realm. And somehow that was the equilibrium of all his creatures and spirits – he showed Sekala and Niskala at the same time, the Visible and Invisible World. And he was travelling through this worlds with a witty, joyful, warm-hearted, deeply empathic mind. In his paintings, human beengs are embedded in a world full of spirits, they might not see. Nevertheless both worlds are harmoniously interwoven and the border between them very fluent. .

It’s a World of the Seen and the Unseen

Heaven and hell co-exists, very down to earth and high up in the sky at the same time. Of course magic amulet drawings called rerajahan have been an inspiration for him, so does Wayang Kulit. But his universe is so far more unique to follow any stereotype, his creatures have a live and origin of their own, transforming. So the earth, so the sky. All the great Balinese quotes come to mind, Tat Twam Asi, we are all one, Tri Hita Karana, a world of multi-dimensions of gods, humans and nature.

Creation is full of spirits, nature’s thriving fertility is a deeply spiritual enchanted universe. It reminds of a wild pagan paradise, where heaven and hell are married. It is a celebration of live with a deeply physical joy, all creatures of the seen and unseen world have a wonderful appetite for life, play, fly, dance, rise, melt, merge and grow. They ascent to the light etherically and emerge from the earth demonically, but all seem to one and intertwined at the same time.

Nyoman Pasek, the Hieronymus Bosch of Bali. Detail Artwork by Nyoman Pasek. _{^{PhotographyJoo Peter}}

I Nyoman Pasek wanted the original painting to be the unique experience, not the photograph. But today his entire legacy is scattered somewhere in the hands of unknown private owners, and this great cultural heritage of Bali is in danger of being lost for the public memory. I hope that the big players like Arma and Neka Museum will start to search and preserve, document and publish, collect and exhibit this heritage.

Artwork by I Nyoman Pasek. _{^{PhotographyJoo Peter}}

An Unique Technique of Painting

The Balinese technique with bamboo stick and ink is a very slow process of painting. Ubud is a famous centre of traditional art, so there was no shortage of opportunities to learn traditional techniques, but his visions were unique from the start.

I recently visited his wife, we have been friends for a long time, when I used to walk past her husband’s studio on Jalan Raya Ubud and stop for a coffee once a while. We had a nice chat and her stories about her husband were very enlightening. She was also able to provide me with some photos, the first one after the year 2000 and the second one with herself around 1990.

I Nyoman Pasek was born in 1943, she told me. The family was very poor, isolated outside the village in the shade of coconut trees, with many siblings and “three mothers” (“tiga ibu” as his wife described it). With different mothers throughout his childhood, it was difficult for him to develop an identity. It was an outsider’s childhood. Rice was often too expensive, and when he was hungry he ate coconuts. He often got scratches on his arms from climbing the coconut trees around the house. He also was exploring the river ravines, mountains and forest depths that nobody else was able to find. Searching solitude to experience nature and its spirits.

Childhood In the Heart of Nature

In these childhood adventures and meditations, he developed a special relationship with nature and the spiritual world, which comes alive in his art. In his surreal paintings, the trunks and branches of trees are transformed into creatures. Often children are depicted climbing a tree or souls and spirits ascending to another world this way. The tongue of Rangda Durga can transform into a vine that is used as a stairway. Perhaps you can say as a self-taught artist he had a unique access to nature. Resulting in a deeper connection with the Pre-Hindu roots of Bali through his direct experiences. Growing older, he remained a passionate adventurer.

Childhood Challenges

As a child, he was difficult for the people around him. Living in his own world and struggling at school. Nyoman Pasek loved drawing from early on. Later as a mature artist, he often worked deep into the night as if in a trance. He was haunted a bit by insomnia, sometimes taking walks in the night. He was attracted by the cemetery at the end of the road. Here he would sit under the large Banyan tree, meditating. It was said that some people were a little bit afraid of him. Sometimes he was suspected of practising witchcraft, but he was purely an artist.

Art and Justice

He never wanted to do any other work but seek his fortune in art. It was understandable that his wife was a bit anxious about it at the beginning. Nyoman Pasek started to go to Pasar Seni to sell art. Mainly as a dealer for the works of other artists, as he was reluctant to sell his works. Against all odds, he gained a reputation and some success over the years. Eventually, he was able to open a small gallery located in Ubud Jalan Raya. His son was able to study art and law, becoming a refined traditional painter in the classic Ubud style as well as having a career in law as a Judge.

Thus the father was an exceptional creative individual who was a social outsider. He experienced a childhood in poverty but was able to pass on to his son a double passion for art as well as for justice. Both the artist and the judge are dedicated to the search for truth – which is never a stereotype. It is complex and ambiguous and requires deep empathy and patience.

Hopefully Nyoman Pasek will be rediscovered and his legacy preserved.

(Joo Peter, 2024)

^{©Joo Peter. Text and photos (except photo portraits of Nyoman Pasek, which are provided by his wife).}