Agus sewage biography definition

Though famed for his self-portraits, the artist is also – and perhaps primarily – relating the recent history of his homeland

Agus Suwage, one of Indonesia’s leading artists, is known for self- portraits that are imbued with social and political commentaries.

Working in painting, drawing, sculpture and installation, he started to include himself in his art during the mid-1990s, using self-portraits, he tells me when we speak in late July, as a way to critique himself before critiquing everyone else.

The self-portrait, he continues, also became a space for him to make sense of the world around him, and to project and overcome his personal concerns, responses and fears in a rapidly changing society. His practice over the last 40 years has grappled with the political changes in Indonesia’s modern history, often with humour, satire and irony.

Tumultuous events skewered in his works include the days of living under Suharto’s New Or