For a high-end commercial photographer, every frame becomes a negotiation—a balance between a client’s brief, a brand’s aesthetic, and a market’s demand for the perfect tantalizing picture. But for Denny Novikar Nasution, a photographer who spent fifteen years documenting the bodies, faces, and fashion of Bali, the "perfect" image that the industry seeks has become a cage. His solo exhibition, DUARRR!: Ledakan yang Disadari (A Conscious Explosion), held from December 2025 to February 2026 at Ruang Art Derau, Ubud, marks the moment that he escaped from this cage. It is an exhibition that celebrates the messy, loud, and unapologetic transition from commercial utility to artistic autonomy, advocating for the protection of human creativity and the right to work without the "burning" of one's soul. This is why his work and the exhibit are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of Decent Work and Economic Growth and Good Health and Well-Being.
The exhibition’s title, DUARRR!, is the sound of a long-held internal detonation. Born in Medan with Mandailing, Minang, Jawa, and Bugis origins in 1987, Nasution built a successful career in Bali, yet he eventually found himself "muak" (sickened) by the repetitive nature of commercial photography. Painting became his exit strategy. In this new medium, there are no clients, no briefs, and no one to say a work is "not neat enough." His works are deliberately "noisy"—utilizing clashing colors like neon pink, orange, and yellow, with techniques that feel as if they have been ripped from the street.
Nasution’s pieces recall the work of the late Andy Warhol, whose screen prints and image transfers helped to define the Pop Art movement in 60s-80s America. Just like Warhol’s pieces, which sought to understand the lines between art and advertising, his pieces then become a way to contemplate the commodification of culture and personal labour. Nasution treats his canvas like an urban wall, blending gel transfers and screen prints with acrylics and oil sticks to create layers that look like 80s-90s-era posters that a child drew on.
This conjures works that appear as if they have been forcibly peeled from city masonry, something private and innocent that had become public, and through its exhibition on canvas, has now been contained yet again in a different state of in-betweenness. Works such as Inyiak Menyalo Di Nagari Minang and Inyiak Menjago Penari Minang utilize so-called "lowly"—easy-to-access—techniques as keys to Nasution’s internal landscapes, showing traditional Minang cultural motifs that without doubt aid him in his exploration of his internal landscapes.
These sentiments are further supported by the exhibition text, written with deep respect by Gustra Adnyana, who frames Denny’s work as a "ledakan yang disadari"—a conscious explosion. It suggests that "stopping" in one's career is not an end, but a necessary step back to see the battlefield. The message of the exhibition is clear: an artist should not wait for approval. In fact, creating artworks for them is a survival mechanism.
Ultimately, DUARRR! is a visceral reminder that sustainable economic growth must include the mental well-being of the creator. It positions art as a space for "honesty over comfort," proving that sometimes, the most productive thing a worker can do is break the machine and start again with their own hands.
Experience the conscious explosion of Denny Novikar Nasution’s work through the exhibition catalogue or visit Ruang Art Derau during the exhibition period (19/12/2025 - 08/02/2026). For more information check Nasution’s website on www.dennynovikar.com or Instagram @dennyninja and Ruang Art Derau’s website www.radruangartaderau.com or Instagram @rad_ruangartaderau.