Hakan Öztunalı
- Nov 1, 2023
- 5 min read

Concealed in Stillness w/ Bahrull Marta

Greetings. Please welcome dear Bahrull Marta. Jakarta, Indonesia based multi-disciplined artist. Holding immense portfolio enclosing monopaint, charcoal, acrylic and various digital tools like 3D in that spectrum. Bahrull's technique echoes to detach the layers of the physical world. It's more like creating authentic paths and links to reach the ivory tower. If there is anything to mention about his work, then it shall be how it's simply beautiful, muted and concealed in stillness.

P.S. - My fifteen years old cat friend was euthanized during the moment, when dear Bahrull sent these interview responds to me. My cat friend was sick due to incurability. That was the only unfair option left on the table to end his everlasting suffering. Now he is living happily in one of the chambers of my heart. With every heart beat, he embraces me with his little paws.

My final words before the interview, thank you Bahrull, the timing of you, halted the pain for a moment.

Dear cat friend, rest well in eternal slumber... - 18 October, 2023.

What is the greatest method to construct a solid communication pattern and the reasons please according to your current experience?

Bahrull Marta: To be honest I don’t have an exact method to begin, to me practically it’s like an urge to create at a certain point. Ideas, shapes, thoughts, it’s all connected naturally when I decide to trust from what I see and feel.

It's easy to get distracted, getting lost in the work is a common lethal routine in my productive time. In such a bad communicative person, personal work to me is a daily failure and chaos where I develop my work intuitively with any tools that sets my mind free or this body become tired enough.

I think my point is to be in a good state of mind in all sense, so I can do anything possible, that’s it. I can’t tell what method is this or we can say I am just trying to find balance between time and effort to deliver into another medium, make something look good, not for everyone at least for me.

To clarify your artisanship from an objective view, you’re literally on the upper echelon in the sense of advanced skills and achievements. However, what is the trade-off to become Bahrull Marta?

Bahrull Marta: Thank you for the kind words, I never feel on the upper or advanced in terms of skill or techniques, I really appreciate it if someone feels that. I’m still nothing, when I write this answer. ‘Bahrull Marta’ was born digitally in the 2007 era when I first made digital collage for nothing, a daily creativity using my photograph from a pocket camera, creating images for viewing pleasure, offline and online. Until I realized it became something that I want to get more involved in the creative process from other art mediums.

I have no art education, studied computer engineering and language programs at college, during my spare time taking all time to create instinctively to learn and fail from painting, screen printing and graphic design. In the early years of my work, refusing to work at a company when I graduated and choosing to keep going on my feet with my work was a real deal to me.

Could you please exemplify a hooking moment and the crucial influencing themes that changes your perception and productivity regarding to your homeland, Indonesia?

Bahrull Marta: I don’t see that my work is related or influence to my country, but this religious country (they said) with a lot of hypocritical and corrupt people on top of the name of muslim majority is often triggering me to light my fire, religion is really a thing here, anything related to people behind it is like my fuel consciously to respond and create.

Tell me about your enlarging feelings and personal features that ART assist you during your good and moody times?

Bahrull Marta: It saved my time and feels like getting closer to myself. There’s a value of a relationship in that moment when you are alone and have to deal with some questions in your head while you are in front of the painting, it’s satisfying and frustrating at the same time. I had a lot of paintings and drawings that I destroyed because when I look at them, it just feels dry and not connected to me anymore. I think it’s about timing and the right moment while I create.

What is extraordinarily unusual about dark arts that drifted you to the core and caused you to select that form of expression?

Bahrull Marta: Dark and darkness is overused, it's easy to call it dark art these days, with new artificial intelligence tools you can create many images and call it dark art as you want, easy and massive. I have no problem with the technology, we can't control it, I’m sure it helps them for their work but labeling dark art based on some words to create the images, I think is not necessary and that’s why I said it’s overused these days. I mean it’s about being honest and who you are, no matter what the terms of the art.

Never claiming my work was labeled as dark art at the beginning, I don’t know anything about it either but it gets used as time goes I find my own way. It’s beyond that just imagery, an attitude, commitment, failure, and emotion is involved in its person. I think I’m just being the medium of what ‘dark art’ wants to deliver to this reality, my chest always open for it.

Frankly, it’s a personal journey to choose what to master. Nevertheless, a small portion of recommendation from a fascinating artist, appreciated. Do you recommend any beginner to follow your path?

Bahrull Marta: Beginner or advance is a matter of point of view, I don’t really care about that, I never think to recommend people to be an artist, maybe it sounds cliche but just to be who you are and do what you want, I still keep those words in me. Nothing to worry about the path, we will get there with our own pace and consistency.

I am familiar with your splendid taste of music. Could you recommend some of your favorite death and black metal bands, even might be from other genres as well?

Bahrull Marta: Lately I've been listening to the Italian black metal band's latest release, Mystical Fullmoon. I often listen to the band that I work with from time to time, this one for example. For other genres, I recently listened to Kuntari, here one of their songs from the latest release, an experimental act from Indonesia.

How and where you like to get along in years, do you foresee the future in your hands?

Bahrull Marta: I see myself right now, learning new things like 3d, point cloud and pottery, a little bit sculpting too. Have a plan to compile some of my work, seen and unseen and release it as a book, just a small release for my archive and a little celebration of my life.

I don’t think much about the future at this moment, often it will distract me from what I have to do. I just want to keep it sharp day by day practically, creating and destroying my work sometimes.

Dear Bahrull, it was a great honor to have you on my realm. Your final comments please.

Bahrull Marta: Huge thank you Hakan for what you are doing here, discovering people who are really passionate about their work and life. Great readers, thank you so much.

CREDITS

To reach official webstore of Bahrull Marta, tap here: bahrullmarta

To reach official Instagram page of Bahrull Marta, tap here: @bahrullmarta