My Reflection of Kama Sutra


Om Awignam Astu Namo Sidham

I trust that all that I create receives the blessing of Ida Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa / The supreme God. Coinciding with my wedding anniversary, my child’s and my own birthdays, as well as 9 years of domestic bliss, and having reached the age of 34, it seems the right moment to express myself in a work entitled ‘Kamasutra’. As with previous exhibitions, I proceed based on the tacit assumption that every profession, especially my own as a painter, needs to be explained. Here I hope to explain my own work in terms of its vision, mission, motto, philosophy, and its ultimate aim, with reference both to individual works, and to the exhibition as a whole.

In a nutshell, ‘Kamasutra’ can be explained in the following terms:

Vision
These days I’m seeing many manifestations of kamasutra that are less than perfect, and that tend to spoil the image of the kamasutra. News, both in the media and from mouth to mouth, portrays the kamasutra as either pornographic or amoral, having a potentially damaging influence.

Mission
Here I intend to return to the notion of the kamasutra as something sacred, making direct reference to the philosophy of the kamasutra itself.

Philosophy
The way I see it, the kamasutra represents all that is sacred in the relationship between a man and a woman. It reflects the ritualistic side of their relationship, incorporating that which is called in Bali the Tri Upasaksi: God as witness, the state as witness, and the people as witness. Most religions include these features in the bonding of a man and a woman as husband and wife.

The kamasutra helps to embed a deep and meaningful intimacy within a couple that unites them spiritually. It transforms them into servants of God, of their parents, of their teachers, of the state, and of their country. According to Balinese Hinduism, kamasutra is reflected in both the seen and the unseen, as famously portrayed in the story of Dewa Semara and Dewa Ratih (Semara Ratih), which tells of the pure and sacred love that bound them as deities.

Motto
By employing the kamasutra in painting, I am inviting both art lovers and the public at large, to appreciate the relationship between kamasutra and other spheres of life according to the theme “The kamasutra as the source of life”.

Aim
As with previous exhibitions I include an outline of the message that the exhibition is attempting to convey. In this case the message is as follows:

To invite people to reach a deeper understanding of the condition in which in daily life a man and a woman, who are in love, and having been united in wedlock, venture forth together into domestic life. To encourage them to consider acts that go contra to the philosophy of the kamasutra, namely insincere marriage that leads to divorce, which in turn - in my personal opinion - damages the lives of innocent children; as well as extra-marital relationships, as these are forbidden by all religions and by God.

Because of the relationship between the kamasutra and God-given sexual desire, there is, I believe, a need to control this desire. That is not to deny the importance of desire, I merely wish to stress the need to channel it wisely, for it is here, I feel, wherein lies the difference between humans and animals, in which humans have been given – by God – the ability to decide what is right and what is wrong, or that which is sacred and that which is profane. I hardly need give examples, but dogs clearly do not understand that it is wrong to copulate in the street.

One of the most important messages that I wish to communicate is that if the kamasutra is not properly understood, then the consequences, both material and spiritual, will be considerable.

Such is my vision, mission, and philosophy, motto and aim in this kamasutra exhibition. I hope that art lovers can see beyond the works as culminations of brush strokes, and instead appreciate the spirit contained within them. I also hope that this can be of use to us all. Thank you.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om.
Ida Bagus Indra