I Ketut Soki (b. Bali 1946)
Legenda Jayaprana (The Legend of Jayaprana), 1965
Oil paint on cloth79 x 95 cm
Collection of Galeri Nasional Indonesia
I Ketut Soki’s painting, Jayaprana is an adaption of a framgent of a popular Balinese folk story. The specific moment which is represented is when Layon Sari falls into the embrace of Raja Kalianget, while Jayaprana is dispensed to the battlefield and ends up being killed by one of the King’s envoys. Jayaprana doesn’t appear in the painting, while in the sky, the fate of Layon Sari is watched by Dewa Batar Kama Jaya and Dewi Ratih. This pair of gods, are known as a symbol of matrimonial harmony, have their own tragic story, where the the wife ends her own life to join her husband.
Soki depicts this diversity of figures through skin colour. The figures of Layon Sari, the gods and a few others in the crowd, have white skin. While, there is a woman with people skin in amongst some figures with darker skin. In contrast with Soki’s other paintings which depict everyay life in Bali, this painting is recreating a legend. Soki took inspiration from traditional Hindu paintings which use certain colours for special figures. Skin tone is used as a representation of values, morality and spirituality.
About the Artist
I Ketut Soki was one of the first students to study with Arie Smit, a painter from the Netherlands, who in the 1960s, worked with children around Panestanan, Ubud. Known as the Young Artists, Arie Smit’s group became known for a style that was close to that of classical Balinese motifs. As with other Young Artists, Soki’s paintings were colourful, decorative as well richly detailed of everyday life in Bali.More about: