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Initially, "Modern Times" provided a foundation to reflect on Tantra's work and her ongoing interests in modernity to shape a globalised identity, drawing from her roots in Bali, her early years and education in London, where she continues to live and work, and her travels from Italy to Pakistan. Throughout her journey as an artist, her style has adapted 'modernity' as a trope and allegory through her kaleidoscopic vision of colour, light, and form. 

Balinese British artist Sinta Tantra opened a new exhibition in London just before the lockdown. Here, we take a photographic tour through the show at Kristin Hjellegjerde gallery filled with Tantra’s trademark tropical colour scheme, that she wraps around city streets and plazas from Sharjah to Seoul in her public art, as well as in her studio practice

"A couple of generations ago, all Balinese women, including my own grandmother would have woven their own cloths from home - these pieces are somewhat a homage to her and the traditional craft. Created in collaboration with a small weaving workshop in Bali, these textiles pieces were made using organically sourced dyes extracted from plants and minerals from the island. This particular piece is called 'Tarum' which translates to Indigo in Balinese. Although I wouldn't really consider myself a textile artist, I view these works almost as 'Bauhaus experiments' - translating my designs onto fabric." 

On the Nature of Botanical Gardens (2020) features nine contemporary Indonesian artists who look critically at botanical gardens, colonial power, knowledge building and the economics of nature, its legacies and current consequences of approaching nature and plants. The exhibition seeks to decolonise the concept of botanical gardens and their role in building a Dutch colonial empire in Indonesia. 

The 22nd instalment of the Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival kicks off today, bringing more than 250 activities, including workshops, exhibitions and lectures to the emirate.

Organised by the Sharjah Department of Culture under the patronage of the emirate's Ruler, Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, this year’s festival will be held under the theme of ‘Prospect’ and will run until Tuesday, January 21. There will be more than 50 exhibitions on show throughout the emirate, including the Sharjah Art Museum, Al Majaz Waterfront, and Maraya Art Centre, presenting the works of local, regional and international artists. Among the artists will be Sinta Tantra, a British artist of Balinese descent, known for her large-scale public artworks. She has previously described her works as “painting on an architectural scale". Her exhibition, titled Horizon to Horizon, will be presented at Al Majaz Waterfront.

‘Flight Interrupted: Eco-leaks from the Invasion Desk’ underscores the annihilation inflicted on eco-systems by man’s war of ambition with nature, and the myriad detrimental reactions from nature. The thematic of KB19 will take the on-going conversations a notch higher to match the urgency of the onslaught on natural habitats and natural resources. This extremity must be treated as an impetus, to cause a reaction, a comment, an alternative to a civilized, established model. An archetype that is considered by a great diversity of stakeholders as a system in crisis.