The dialectics of space and investigations into human perception are two central elements embodied within the current body of work by Indonesian visual artist Taufik Ermas. The thought processes contributing to his artistic practice are heavily influenced by philosophy and psychology, two areas of human knowledge that are closely intertwined.

In 2006, Taufik almost lost his life in the tragic earthquake that shook the city of Yogyakarta, where he lives and works. He was rescued from the rubble in which he was momentarily trapped when the structure he was in collapsed. The traumatic experience of being trapped within treacherously constricted space during this ordeal, not knowing whether he would survive, has since become an important driver in the development of his work.

The experience also marked an important inflection point, something that made Taufik reevaluate his outlook to life, and consequently, his approach to artmaking. The Sentience of Subtle Intelligence presents a small survey of works from the artist’s broad repertoire of paintings, most of which involve the augmentation of the canvas surface. There are two broad styles that fall within the augmented canvas works produced by Taufik: the Cut-Out and Contoured/Layered series.

In his Cut-Out works, human silhouettes that outline the blank three-dimensional spaces in his sculptural paintings are symbolic of Taufik’s representation of the constant human quest to seek answers about ourselves, and our place in this world. The emptiness and void in this series of works are reflections of our own feelings of being incomplete, as we struggle with questions about our true purpose.

His more recent Contoured/Layered artworks incorporate a different method of augmenting canvases, a process involving sewing, stuffing, and reinforcing that creates a dual structure on either side of the canvas – linear ridges on one, and analogous mirrored indented lines on the other.

Initially created to visually depict and imply psychological scarring, this technique has been expanded to become what the artist describes as “dual-surfaced paintings”; the reverse side of the canvas depicting a mirrored analog of the central subject, either outlined or indented. Artworks created using the Contoured/Layered technique express the many paradoxes of everyday life, and the many questions often arising from them.

The selection of works for this small survey serve as an entry point to the many complex psychological dialogs that are central to Taufik’s artwork aesthetics. As sentient beings, humans are in constant search for meaning, and it is through perception that we learn more about ourselves as we observe and understand our surroundings, whether the immediate space around us, or the world at large. Through the use of inference in his works, the use of negative space or linear images superimposed, Taufik’s works suggest that to better understand the world, and ultimately ourselves, we need to pause and see beyond the obvious; for hidden behind even the most mundane of everyday events is quite often something quite interesting, if we take the time to investigate closer. 

Taufik Ermas

b. 1984 in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Indonesia 

Taufik Ermas currently resides and works in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, where he had attended the Indonesian Institute of Arts (Institut Seni Indonesia), obtaining his Bachelor in Fine Art in 2010. Stylistically a figurative painter, Taufik takes painting to a different level by utilizing various techniques of canvas and stretcher frame augmentation. Two different techniques that dominate his body of current practice are the Cut-Out and Contoured/Layered series of works. Both these techniques have their roots in the artist surviving a traumatic, near-death experience in 2006, during the major earthquake that hit Yogyakarta that year, causing him to be momentarily buried alive.

The analysis and study of human experience, expressed through the lenses of philosophy and psychology, are the key thrusts behind the visually intriguing works by Taufik Ermas. Both his Cut-Out and Contoured/Layered series of works express the many paradoxes of everyday life, raising questions that enable us to understand the world around us better, and ultimately providing insights into our own selves. While Taufik has exhibited extensively both in Indonesia and abroad, his participation in Volta Basel 2022 marks the artist’s first appearance in a major art fair in Europe.

Complete Artist Bio