Jumaadi

b. 1973, Indonesia

Born in 1973 in Indonesia, Jumaadi came to Sydney in 2000 to study at the National Art School where he completed a Bachelor of Fine Art and a Masters of Fine Art.

Jumaadi has lived and worked in Sydney since then and has participated in many exhibitions in Australia and overseas.  Jumaadi unique approach to art renders his own poetry with his dream-like watercolours and paintings.  Jumaadi is also a sculptor and installation/performance artist.

He works fluidly across a range of mediums, including painting, drawing, performance and installation. His practice is informed by personal experience as well as the political and aesthetic lineages of his homeland, including wayang kulit, a tradition of shadow-puppet plays that originated in Java and Bali. With a poetic sensibility and subtle symbolism, Jumaadi weaves together a personal iconography of human and organic motifs to explore universal themes such as love, conflict and belonging.

Jumaadi is a multi-disciplinary artist working in medium ranging from small, poetic gouache on paper to large scale drawings which can exceed 3 x 20 metres. His paintings are mixed media (water, acrylic and oil) executed on plywood, timber, cloth, canvas and buffalo hide. Jumaadi is also recognised for his sculptural works in wood and metal, as well as installation and performance work.

Jumaadi’s work is featured in numerous public collections both across Australia and internationally, namely the Halsey Institute South Carolina, USA, Macquarie Bank, National Art School, Sydney, National Gallery of Australia, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney. Jumaadi’s ‘most typical subject matter’, is love (either romantic or familial) portrayed in varied forms and revolves around demons, spirits, and fanciful creatures. Jumaadi currently lives and works between Yogyakarta, Indonesia and Mosman, Sydney.