![\"\"](\"https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2.-Eko-Nugroho-1-1230x820.jpg\")
The artist ponders the long game of embroidery, having too many ideas at once, where to sit in a puppet show and whether making fashion is selling out
\n\n\n\nOver the past two decades, masks have been an enduring theme in Eko Nugroho’s work, which spans painting, sculpture, embroidery and installation. In his paintings and prints, figures are typically wearing some form of veil, covering or headgear, with only their eyes visible. These head coverings can speak of forms of subterfuge and rebellion, inspired by the masked crusaders in the comicbooks that the artist devoured as a child, but more often they refer to a sense of anonymity and dehumanisation of labour under capitalism. The print Global Identities 1 (2011) depicts an office lady from the back, with a hand-bag in one arm and a jacket slung over the other; where her head should be, we have two stacked parasols or umbrellas. Ala Carte Modern Slavery (2023) is a lifesize sculpture of a man in office attire wearing a complicated headdress akin to the war bonnets in Native American culture. In place of one arm we have a long, spongy appendage that trails to the floor, while the other arm is a pair of callipers.
\n\n\n\nBased in Yogyakarta, Nugroho is among the generation of socially engaged Indonesian contemporary artists who lived through the fall of Suharto in 1998 and experienced the wave of political liberalisation that ensued in the Reformasi era. If social commentary is an intrinsic part of Nugroho’s work, his style tends towards the light and playful. This is helped by a bright, highly graphic visual vocabulary that draws influences from both contemporary and traditional sources. The many inventive characters in his oeuvre, such as monsters, robots, mutants and all kinds of hybridised creatures, have their roots in Japanese manga and anime; while the highly textured and patterned surfaces he uses to fill up space in his work are inspired by the delicate, lacelike perforations carved into the puppets in wayang kulit (Indonesian shadow puppetry).
\n\n\n\nThe cheerful mishmash of vernacular and pop cultural idioms made him popular with international biennales, public institutions and private collectors alike, and Nugroho is one of the most widely exhibited artists from Indonesia today. A true Renaissance man, he also has an impressive array of endeavours, including tie-ups with commercial brands – he did commissions for a Louis Vuitton scarf and an Ikea poster in 2013 and 2015 respectively – and a self-funded theatre company. In 2008 he set up Wayang Bocor, a theatre company that uses shadow puppetry, dance and music to create performances, funding the free productions that tour villages for mass entertainment and access to art.
\n\n\n\nHis current exhibition at Singapore Tyler Print Institute (STPI), STRANGE MONSTER VIEW, among other ideas, delves into the alienation resulting from the ubiquitous use of mobile phones. The print KEEP IN TOUCH BUT NOT TOUCH (2025) depicts two figures passing by each other, with phones in their hands; one has multiple heads in stacked boxes, the other has a bulbous, lumpy assemblage of heads wrapped in scarves. Nugroho speaks to ArtReview Asia over good old Zoom – digital culture does have some benefits – about the early influences on his art and how his practice has evolved alongside changes in Indonesia.
\n\n\n\nSix Sewing Machines
\n\n\n\nArtreview Asia Tell us about your setup in Yogyakarta right now. You employ a team to help you, including some embroiderers who assist in your largescale canvas-embroideries? I read in previous interviews that embroidered patches were important accessories in Indonesian visual culture, because they signal affiliation to a certain group, whether a political party or a biker gang.
\n\n\n\nEko Nugroho I have 13 people working fulltime in my studio. Some of them are old friends from childhood. All of them help out with different things. One person helps me with painting, another with sculptures and installations, another with crating and sending artworks, and so on.
\n\n\n\nAmong them are three fulltime embroiderers. They used to work in a shop which made embroidered patches using sewing machines, and I had been working with them since 2007. But the process became computerised – you could programme a new kind of sewing machine to sew the patch instead of having a human do it – and these guys lost their jobs. They were going to go back to their village and become a farmer or Grab delivery driver, so I asked them to join my team. I bought over six sewing machines from the shop.
\n\n\n\nI paint the picture on the canvas, and the embroiderers go over the image with the machine. It’s a slow process, because the canvas needs to be stretched on a small ring, and my guys work on a small area at a time. Now we have refined the process so we can make a work of 3m by 3m in four months. And that’s already considered fast! We used to take at least six months.
\n\n\n\nARA You started out as a street artist. What kind of work did you do in the beginning?
\n\n\n\nEN In 2000, when I was still an art student at the Institut Seni Indonesia (Indonesian Art Institute), I painted outside my friends’ house, which is the base of the art collective Apotik Komik. I put up various posters of politicians and MPs and spraypainted and stencilled words onto their faces. My message was something along the lines of, ‘You’re not doing your job. You’re supposed to be listening to the people. Instead you’re ignoring us.’
\n\n\n\nPainting outdoors was the start of my painting practice. I really liked working in a public, almost borderless area. If I have permission from the building owner, I usually paint during the day, and people would pass by and I would have conversations with the public. It’s where I get a lot of ideas.
\n\n\n\nOf course, there aren’t many big buildings and big walls in Yogyakarta, so there will be a lot of fighting, and artists painting over one another. I try my best to bring the spirit of street art – its temporary nature – into the gallery. So for any show I do, I will typically paint a big mural in the gallery, which will exist only for the duration of the exhibition. This work cannot be collected and it can only exist as an experience and later in documentation.
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2000-Herk-mural-at-Apotik-Komik-21-1230x884.jpg\")
Thick Smoke from a Chimney
\n\n\n\nARA When you started out, what was the art scene like in Indonesia? Did you see a viable future in art as a career?
\n\n\n\nEN In 1998, when I was still studying, I already had a family and children. My primary focus then was being a good father and looking for a normal job with a normal pay to raise my family. My grandparents ran a small food stall in Beringharjo Market, so I helped to make tea and coffee and also delivered food. Art was only for fun. It was a way for me to express myself. In a way, I made art without any sense of burden, because I didn’t see it as a job.
\n\n\n\nARA What was your first big break?
\n\n\n\nEN My two solo shows at Cemeti Art House really opened doors for me. In 2002 I presented BERCEROBONG, which means a chimney that keeps emitting smoke. It was a metaphor for me: there were so many things I wanted to do, talk about, so many things I wanted – and all of this felt like thick smoke coming out of a chimney. And I really put all my efforts and energies into showcasing my versatility, so I made works in different media. I made dolls, painted a mural across the gallery, made a diorama, painted on canvas. From that project, more residencies and group shows came my way. The show opened many doors for me, and that changed my perspective of what I could do with art. I was twenty five years old then.
\n\n\n\nARA You started practising during Reformasi, the early period of post Suharto democratisation in Indonesia. In your works, you often criticise government policies about democracy and censorship. How has your art changed as Indonesia changed?
\n\n\n\nEN There has been no change. The themes have been repeated since I started 20, 30 years ago. The same political situation is happening, just in a different way. Politicians can make promises, but once they come into power, they close their eyes and ears to the people. My work has a through line: although the message can be critical, it is expressed in an optimistic, humorous way.
\n\n\n\nARA I was struck by one of your sculptures called The Traveller (2015), a rounded figure with many sets of eyes and beaks, with worms coming out its back. The exhibition text says that it was based on the image of a tukang dholan, or relentless wanderer, someone who is always travelling, drawn to new places and possibilities, but never settling down. Some people have read it as an image of a distractible post Reformasi Indonesia – talking too much (the beaks) and always on the move, yet to find its destination.
\n\n\n\nEN That is one way of looking at it. Originally, the image of this birdlike traveller was developed during a residency in Paris in 2012. Back then, I made it as a kind of self-portrait, as I was travelling the world, getting more knowledgeable and also getting fatter. That’s why the figure has such a big belly! But the idea evolved along the way. The sculpture you are talking about was exhibited in Salihara Art Center [in Jakarta], and at that time the figure took on a darker and more ominous tone. I was using it to talk about radical Islam in Indonesia. In one hand the figure is holding a black book, and in the other a prayer necklace.
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/The-Traveller-_2018_Fiberglass-paint-with-acrylic-batik-bolster-wood-hardboard_180x105x120cm-1-1-1230x1807.jpg\")
ARA Can you talk about your interest in masks, veils and coverings?
\n\n\n\nEN People are wearing masks all the time. Today we may be constantly ‘improving’ ourselves, being smarter, healthier and more educated, but we are listening less and talking less to each other, and we have lost a way to be in touch with our feelings. In this way, we are becoming like monsters or aliens.
\n\n\n\nThere is a series of works where I have one figure wearing different masks and head coverings. We all have different roles to play in life, whether as a family member or office worker, and we put on different hats at different times.
\n\n\n\nSuperheroes and Shadow Puppets
\n\n\n\nARA What were some of the early influences in your work?
\n\n\n\nEN From high school to university, I loved manga and anime. There was a street library of Japanese comics from which I borrowed. The visuals and the way the images were composed made a great impression on me. That was where I picked up my interest in superheroes, kaijus (monsters), robots and aliens, which are all elements you can see in my work.
\n\n\n\nI also watched a lot of anime and Japanese superhero series on TV. I loved shows like Goggle V [a Japanese precursor to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers] and Kungfu Boy [about an orphan boy who uses kung fu to battle enemies].
\n\n\n\nAnother influence was wayang kulit. When I was young, I lived with my grandmother, and after school, from 12 to 2pm, she would listen to wayang on the radio. Wayang told episodes from the Mahabharata, about the stories of Krishna or Vishnu and so on, and every storyteller had a different way of improvising the story. I enjoyed listening to the stories and music, but I also loved watching wayang live. There are two sides from which you can watch the show. On one side of the screen, you get to see all the performers and puppets, and that was where the VIPs sat. On the other side, you saw only the shadows cast by the puppets. That was where normal people sat, and my favourite side. It was like watching a black-and-white animation.
\n\n\n\nIn my work there are dense textures and patterns on bodies, which is inspired by the intricate puppets in wayang kulit.
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Wayang-Bocor-for-Merapi-refugees-16-1230x818.jpg\")
ARA Which brings me to your theatre company, Wayang Bocor, which you set up in 2008. For a while you were touring God Bliss (In the Name of Semelah), a production that tells the story of how Islam came to Java and became absorbed into Javanese culture that included elements of Hinduism, Buddhism and animism. It’s a multimedia work that incorporates shadow puppetry, street art, comic and videogame culture, and it’s been described as also commenting on contemporary life. Are you still touring this show?
\n\n\n\nEN No. The company is currently on break, because my collaborator Gunawan Maryanto, who was the playwright, director and performer, passed away in 2021. God Bliss was commissioned by the Asia Society in New York, and we also showed it there in 2017, but prior to that, Wayang Bocor had already been touring various villages around the outskirts of Yogyakarta for free with other productions.
\n\n\n\nWayang Bocor was a project I initiated as a way of giving back to the people, because the performing arts were more accessible and entertaining for most communities. I invited other artists to join, including a writer, a composer and a choreographer, and we made about five productions, all completely funded by me.
\n\n\n\nThe shows are in Javanese and address issues such as corruption, palm oil plantations and terrorism. When we travelled from village to village to perform, we also invited villagers to participate in a short segment, where they can present messages, such as talking about a community issue or making fun of authority figures.
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/15.-Eko-Nugroho-KEEP-IN-TOUCH-BUT-NOT-TOUCH-2025-1230x1526.jpg\")
Making Art or Selling Out?
\n\n\n\nARA What’s your attitude towards commercial tie-ups?
\n\n\n\nEN There was a big backlash against me in the street art community when I worked with LV. My answer to them was, I wanted to challenge my idea of what art could be. If it fails, then at least I tried. If it turns out well, then we see it’s possible to make art through different avenues. One thing I’ve noticed about the LV collaboration is that it helped open the door for other Indonesian brands to work with local artists and illustrators. As for me, I’m selective about brands I work with. In 2016 I worked with local label Major Minor to create a ready-to-wear collection, and in 2025 I worked with Sejauh Mata Memandang to have my works printed on scarves and clothing. I choose brands based on how closely we can collaborate, how we can shape a good product together. I don’t want to just provide an image to be slapped onto a piece of clothing.
\n\n\n\nARA Who do you think your audience is?
\n\n\n\nEN It’s actually a very varied, open group. During my artist talk in STPI, there were many people who responded and asked questions, and appreciated what I did. My work isn’t just about Indonesia, it also reflects what’s going on globally. Anyone watching the news today can relate to my work.
\n\n\n\nEko Nugroho: STRANGE MONSTER VIEW is on show at Singapore Tyler Print Institute through 10 October
\n\n\n\nFrom the Autumn 2026 issue of ArtReview Asia – get your copy.
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