50 Years, a Journey. Apel Hendrawan

When does a story warrant a book or a painting? In truth, in honouring life, all life presents stories that are unwritten books. In the 50 years Apel Hendrawan has journeyed, there have been many chapters. Amidst the curtains of yesterday’s nightmares that thread their wisps into tomorrow’s dreams, a library of life experiences has been brutally chopped. Hauntings and madness paved the path beneath his feet. Walking, bleeding towards a different freedom. 

It is apt that this breathtaking journey, a heartbreaking beauty that would surpass any masterpiece on canvas. And when the feet that have walked, embrace every cut, and do not run to lessen the length of the shadows, perhaps this is why the art of Apel Hendrawan emits deep spiritual and emotional resonance.  This is not a book about an artist. It is of the perfect artistry of spirit and flesh, of shadow and light, of torment and peace, discovered and honoured through the man and his art.

Apel Hendrawan is a painter, sculptor, tattoo artist, environmental activist and Balinese Hindu priest. A life journey that has seen him go through a battle with the forces of dark and light. A drug overdose that saw him incarcerated in the Bangli Asylum for the insane. Apel’s creative journey led him through experimentation until he eventually found his ‘voice’. A settled, more mature condition that reflected his state of grace.

Retrospective Solo Exhibition and Launch of Biography

Apel Hendrawan’s story defies the shallow gloss of trend-driven artistry. Born into a culture now pressured by tourism and global fusions, Apel’s work returns us to something both timeless and timely: art born of process, pain, and spiritual purpose.

“I never imagined the wildness of his past could be so extreme… That journey— his turning point—was nothing short of miraculous,” writes ManButur Suantara, reflecting on Apel’s harrowing descent into substance abuse and his eventual confinement in the Bangli Asylum. That chapter, rather than ending him, became the threshold of transformation. What followed was a raw, unrelenting pursuit of healing through creation.

Apel Hendrawan’s art evokes the brush of Turner, romantic yet storm-laden, drawing from oil on canvas—a medium avoided by many in Bali due to its inconvenience in humid climates. His expressive strokes are infused with European classical aesthetics, fused uniquely with Balinese sacred symbols, mythology, volcanic ash, and Aksara script, imbuing each piece with visceral and spiritual weight. As art in Bali becomes increasingly saturated by commercial demands and superficial representations, Hendrawan’s work reminds us of the power of process and authenticity. His is not the art of performance or production, but of purification.

Related Articles