« Bali 'Art Attack « 'Wild Drawing' ~ Bali's Wildest 3D Street Artist

The Bali-born 'Wild Drawing' – Banksy-like and anonymous – is a world-acclaimed street artist whose urban artwork graces walls from Asia to Europe. Wild Drawing, or 'WD' – is a member of The Pojoks, a Bali-based street-art collective.

Born on the tiny island of Nusa Penida off Bali's southeast coast, and with degrees in Fine Art and Applied Arts, Wild Drawing is based in Athens, Greece.

WD's also a master of the 3D trompe-l'œil...

The Street Artist Wild Drawing ~ 'WD' (b.Bali, 199X –)

Contemporary Balinese art / Street art / Murals to order / Digital artworks / Installations / Canvasses for sale

The Pojoks Art Collective, Bali, Indonesia

Smeagol, aka Gollum, Ring-Bearer of 'My Precious' in Tolkein's The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings finds a new day-job as a street artist in Bali, Indonesia

'Smeagol' (2015) (Detail).
Street art of 'Smeagol', aka Gollum from 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings' as seen by the Balinese-born street-artist Wild Drawing ('WD') outside an art studio in Mas, Bali, Indonesia.
Urban art © 2015 Wild Drawing ('WD').
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

To commission or buy Wild Drawing's murals or canvasses

For enquiries, commissions, payment or delivery – please contact the artist or representative directly. You'll find their contact details at the bottom of this portfolio.

'Message' (2020) by Wild Drawing (WD)

Street art / Mural in Bali, Indonesia

Coronavirus & Covid-19 pandemic / Couples / Long-distance relationships / Separation / Communication

Street-art by the Balinese muralist Wild Drawing on separation, long-distance relationships and communication during the Covid-19 pandemic

'Message' (2020).
Street art by the anonymous Balinese muralist 'Wild Drawing' (WD) on separation, budding long-distance relationships and the importance of communication during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Urban Art © 2020 Wild Drawing ('WD') / www.wdstreetart.com.
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

Detail: 'Message' (2020) by Wild Drawing.
Urban Art © 2020 Wild Drawing ('WD') / www.wdstreetart.com.
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

Detail: 'Message' (2020) by Wild Drawing.
How it all began: street art of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus strain that causes Covid-19. Quite a mouthful. Or an eyeful. Or a noseful. You really kind of wish the chef had cooked his bat for another ten minutes.
Urban Art © 2020 Wild Drawing ('WD') / www.wdstreetart.com.
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

Detail: 'Message' (2020) by Wild Drawing.
A relationship buds despite separation, distance and lockdown during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Mural © 2020 Wild Drawing ('WD') / www.wdstreetart.com.
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

Detail: 'Message' (2020) by Wild Drawing.
Now you know how Wild Drawing added that extra trompe-l'œil among the foreground plants...
Denpasar, South Bali, Indonesia on October 17, 2020.
Street Art © 2020 Wild Drawing ('WD') / www.wdstreetart.com.
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

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'Tanah Air Mata' (Land of Tears) (2020) by Wild Drawing (WD)

Commissioned art-installation / Social-political mural in Bali, Indonesia

Yu Patmi / Farmer / Protester / Rice fields / Land exploitation / Cement factory

Social-political art installation in Bali protesting the destruction of Indonesian rice-fields and farmland by heavy industry

'Tanah Air Mata' (Land of Tears) (2020).
Social-political trompe-l'œil urban art installation at Kulidan Kitchen in Ketewel, Bali, protesting the destruction of Indonesian rice-fields and farmland by heavy industry.
Commissioned Mural © 2020 Wild Drawing ('WD').
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

Street-art of Yu Patmi, an Indonesian farmer and environmental activist who died from heart failure after ceremonially
setting her feet in concrete to protest the construction of a cement factory near her village in Central Java

Detail: 'Tanah Air Mata' (Land of Tears) (2020).
'Tanah Air Mata' is a tribute to Yu Patmi, an Indonesian farmer and environmental activist who died from heart failure after ceremonially setting her feet in concrete during a demonstration in Jakarta to protest the construction of a cement factory near her village in the Kendeng mountains of Central Java, Indonesia.
Commissioned Mural © 2020 Wild Drawing ('WD').
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

A traditional Indonesian rice-farmer ponders the cement factory built in the middle of his rice-fields

Detail: 'Tanah Air Mata' (Land of Tears) (2020).
A traditional Indonesian rice-farmer ponders environmental destruction and the cement factory built in the middle of his rice-fields in Central Java, Indonesia.
Commissioned Mural © 2020 Wild Drawing ('WD').
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

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'Tembang Ladang Gula' (2020) by Wild Drawing (WD) and SLINAT

Social-political street art / Mural in Bali, Indonesia

Coronavirus & Covid-19 / Tourism dollar / Traditional Balinese life / Rice-farming / Hindu religion & mythology / Face-mask

Street-art by the Balinese muralist 'Wild Drawing' of a traditional Balinese woman wearing a gas-mask against Covid-19 as she chooses between her burning dollars and growing rice to survive the incoming Indonesian economic crisis caused by the Coronavirus

'Tembang Ladang Gula' (2020).
Street art by the Balinese muralists 'Wild Drawing' and 'SLINAT' of a traditional Balinese woman wearing a gas-mask to guard against Covid-19 as she chooses between her disappearing tourist-dollars or growing rice to survive the incoming Indonesian economic recession caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.
Denpasar, South Bali, Indonesia on September 5, 2020.
Street Art © 2020 Wild Drawing / SLINAT.
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

Street-art by the Balinese muralists 'Wild Drawing' and 'SLINAT' of a traditional Balinese woman wearing a gas-mask against Covid-19 as she holds her burning tourist-dollars during the incoming Indonesian economic crisis caused by the Coronavirus pandemic

Detail of 'Tembang Ladang Gula' (2020) street-art by the Balinese muralists 'Wild Drawing' and 'SLINAT'.
No money left to burn as Bali's tourist-dollars vanish during the Covid-19 economic recession.
Denpasar, South Bali, Indonesia on September 5, 2020.
Mural © 2020 Wild Drawing / SLINAT.
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

Street-art by Wild Drawing of the mythical Hindu bird-dragon Garuda offering a drop of life-giving water to a parched, damaged world as a Balinese-Hindu woman prays for his success

Detail of 'Tembang Ladang Gula' (2020) by the Balinese street-artist 'Wild Drawing' (WD).
Street mural of the mythical Hindu bird-dragon Garuda offering a drop of life-giving water to a parched, damaged world as a Balinese-Hindu woman prays for his success.
Denpasar, South Bali, Indonesia on September 5, 2020.
Street Art © 2020 Wild Drawing.
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

Street-art by the Balinese muralists 'Wild Drawing' and 'SLINAT' of a traditional Balinese woman wearing a gas-mask against Covid-19 as she chooses between her burning dollars and growing rice to survive the incoming Indonesian economic crisis caused by the Coronavirus

Detail of 'Tembang Ladang Gula' (2020) by the Balinese muralists 'Wild Drawing' and 'SLINAT'.
A Balinese woman ponders a return to the rice-fields rather than go hungry in an increasingly recession-hit Bali.
Denpasar, South Bali, Indonesia on September 5, 2020.
Street Art © 2020 Wild Drawing / SLINAT.
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

Defaced street art by the Balinese muralists 'Wild Drawing' and 'SLINAT' in Denpasar, Bali

Four months later...
February 3, 2021. Nothing lasts for long in the tropics. Additional urban-art vandalism by UrbanArse Inc.
Photograph © 2021 Ubud High.

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'Artificial Happiness' (2014) by Wild Drawing (WD)

Street art / Mural in Bali, Indonesia

Traditional 1930s Balinese girl / Smartphone / Cellphone / Social media

Street-art by 'WD' (Wild Drawing) of a topless 1930s Balinese girl using a smartphone on a wall near Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

'Artificial Happiness' (2014).
Mural by the street-artist 'WD' (Wild Drawing) of a traditional, topless 1930s Balinese girl using a cellphone near Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Street Art © 2014 Wild Drawing ('WD') of The Pojoks Art Collective, Bali.
Photograph © 2015 by Ubud High.

Detail: 'Artificial Happiness' (2014).
Social-political street-art by the muralist Wild Drawing of a traditionally topless 1930s Balinese girl using a smartphone on a wall near Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Mural © 2014 Wild Drawing ('WD') of The Pojoks Art Collective, Bali.
Photograph © 2015 by Ubud High.

Urban art of a young Balinese girl using a smartphone by the street artist Wild Drawing of Bali, Indonesia

Detail: 'Artificial Happiness' (2014).
A traditionally topless 1930s Balinese girl checks her smartphone on a wall near Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Street Art © 2014 Wild Drawing ('WD') of The Pojoks, Bali.
Photograph © 2015 by Ubud High.

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'The Tears of Dewi Sri' (2018) by Wild Drawing (WD)

Street art / Mural in Bali, Indonesia

Dewi Sri / Goddess of rice and fertility / Balinese-Hindu religion

Mural by the Balinese street-artist Wild Drawing in Bali, Indonesia

'The Tears of Dewi Sri' (2018).
Street-art by Wild Drawing of Dewi Sri, the Balinese-Hindu goddess of rice and fertility, crying in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia.
Street Art © 2018 Wild Drawing ('WD') of The Pojoks Art Collective, Bali.
Photograph © 2018 Wild Drawing.

Street-art by Wild Drawing of the Balinese-Hindu goddess of rice and fertility, Dewi Sri, in Bali, Indonesia

'The Tears of Dewi Sri' (Photographed in 2020).
Two years later. Street-art by Wild Drawing of Dewi Sri, the Balinese-Hindu goddess of rice and fertility, crying in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia.
Urban Art © 2018 Wild Drawing ('WD') of The Pojoks Art Collective, Bali.
Photograph by © 2020 Ubud High.

'The Tears of Dewi Sri' (2018) (Detail).
Street-art by Wild Drawing of Dewi Sri, the Balinese-Hindu goddess of rice and fertility, crying in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia.
Street Art © 2018 Wild Drawing ('WD') of The Pojoks Art Collective, Bali.
Photograph by © 2020 Ubud High.

'The Tears of Dewi Sri' (2018) (Detail).
Mural by Wild Drawing of Dewi Sri, the Balinese-Hindu goddess of rice and fertility, crying in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia.
Mural © 2018 Wild Drawing ('WD') of The Pojoks Art Collective, Bali.
Photograph by © 2020 Ubud High.

'The Tears of Dewi Sri' (2018) (Detail).
Street art by Wild Drawing of Dewi Sri, the Balinese-Hindu goddess of rice and fertility, crying in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia – along with his signature 'WD'.
Urban Art © 2018 Wild Drawing ('WD') of The Pojoks Art Collective, Bali.
Photograph by © 2020 Ubud High.

'The Tears of Dewi Sri' (2018) (Detail).
Street-art by Wild Drawing of a quote from Mahatma Gandhi to accompany his mural of a crying Dewi Sri, the Balinese-Hindu goddess of rice and fertility, in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia.
The full Gandhi quote reads: "Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed."
Street Art © 2018 Wild Drawing ('WD') of The Pojoks Art Collective, Bali.
Photograph by © 2020 Ubud High.

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'Smeagol' (2015) by Wild Drawing (WD)

Commissioned street art / Mural in Bali, Indonesia

Gollum / The Hobbit / The Lord of the Rings / Tolkein

'Smeagol' (2015).
'Smeagol' – infamous as Gollum, and Ring-Bearer of "My Precious" in J.R.R. Tolkein's 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy – finds a new lease of life as a rogue street-artist in Bali, Indonesia.
Commissioned Mural © 2015 Wild Drawing ('WD').
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

'Smeagol', better-known as Gollum from 'The Hobbit', readies a can of spray-paint outside an art studio in Mas, Bali, Indonesia Bali

'Smeagol' (2015) (Detail).
'Smeagol', better-known as Gollum from 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings', readies his can of spray-paint outside an art studio in Mas, Bali, Indonesia.
Street Art © 2015 Wild Drawing ('WD').
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

'Smeagol' (2015) (Detail).
Spray-paint can at the ready, Wild Drawing's signature 'WD' on his 2015 street-mural of Gollum from Tolkein's 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings' in Bali, Indonesia.
Street Art © 2015 Wild Drawing ('WD').
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

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Street art by Wild Drawing (WD) ~ Untitled, 2020

Urban art / Socio-political mural

Bali / Covid-19 pandemic / Unemployment / Economic recession / Poverty & hunger

Street art drawing attention to rising poverty and hunger on Bali caused by unemployment and the collapse of the tourist industry following Covid-19 travel constrictions

'Untitled' (August 2020).
Street art drawing attention to rising poverty and hunger on Bali caused by unemployment and the collapse of the tourist industry following Covid-19 travel restrictions.
Urban Art © 2020 Wild Drawing ('WD') / www.wdstreetart.com.
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

Outline of a mural by the street artist 'Wild Drawing' highlighting mounting poverty levels caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing collapse of the tourist industry on Bali

'Untitled' (August 2020).
Preliminary outline of a mural in an abandoned building in Denpasar highlighting mounting poverty levels caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Street Art © 2020 Wild Drawing ('WD') / www.wdstreetart.com.
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

Street art by the urban artist 'Wild Drawing' of a Balinese boy going hungry due to unemployment and the collapse of the tourist industry across Bali

'Untitled' (August 2020).
Wild Drawing – 'WD' – is renowned for his spectacular use of the trompe-l'œil in his urban art.
Street Art © 2020 Wild Drawing ('WD') / www.wdstreetart.com.
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

'Untitled' (August 2020).
Finished artwork by the street artist 'Wild Drawing' of a Balinese boy going hungry due to unemployment and the collapse of the tourist industry following the catastrophic effect of the Coronavirus pandemic on Bali's economy.
Urban Art © 2020 Wild Drawing ('WD') / www.wdstreetart.com.
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

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'Fall' (2020) by Wild Drawing (WD)

Surreal 3-dimensional street art in Ubud, Bali by Wild Drawing

Depression – and a crash, fall and burn-out for the pandemic year of 2020

Surreal street art by the urban artist Wild Drawing of a crash-and-burn depression scenario for the pandemic year that was 2020

'Fall' (2020).
The complete surreal mural. A crash-and-burn depression scenario for the end of the disasterous pandemic year that was 2020. 2-D becomes three dimensions; 3D morphs into the two-dimensional. Another casual, genius masterpiece by the Nusa Penida-born Wild Drawing.
Street Art © 2020 Wild Drawing ('WD') / www.wdstreetart.com.
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

Brained by a column of reinforced concrete - surreal street art and another urban masterpiece by Bali's Wild Drawing

'Fall' (2020, detail).
Brained by a column of reinforced concrete.
Urban Mural © 2020 Wild Drawing ('WD') / www.wdstreetart.com.
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

Two dimensions morph into 3D - Wild Drawing plays with the laws of physical dimensions like they were Play-Doh

'Fall' (2020, detail).
Two dimensions morph into 3D. Wild Drawing plays with the laws of physical dynamics and dimensions like they were Play-Doh.
Street Art © 2020 Wild Drawing ('WD') / www.wdstreetart.com.
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

3D eyes painted by the Balinese street artist Wild Drawing in his urban art 'Fall' in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

'Fall' (2020, Detail).
It's always a question of perspective with Wild Drawing's art.
Street Art © 2020 Wild Drawing ('WD') / www.wdstreetart.com.
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

The eye of the beholder as surreal, tender street art by the master urban artist, Wild Drawing of Bali

'Fall' (2020, detail).
The eye of the beholder. However harsh his subject material, Wild Drawing has a sensitivity and tenderness that only the very best artists possess. Every being that he paints has a soul; Balinese people describe this 'soul within an artwork' as its 'taksu'.
Urban Art © 2020 Wild Drawing ('WD') / www.wdstreetart.com.
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

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'Distant Hug' (2020) by Wild Drawing (WD)

3D street art on loneliness, distance and separation during the Covid-19 pandemic in Ubud, Bali

Relationships / Friends / Family / Lovers

3D street art on loneliness, distance and relationships during the Covid-19 pandemic in Ubud, Bali

'Distant Hug' (2020).
Loneliness, distance, separation and a virtual hug during the disasterous and extreme Covid-19 pandemic.
Street Art © 2020 Wild Drawing ('WD').
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

'Sold' (2014) by Wild Drawing

Street art / Social-political mural in Bali, Indonesia

Bali Tigress and her tiger cub / Hunted to extinction / Dutch colonial period

The last known tiger, an adult female, was killed in SumbarKima, West Bali, on September 27, 1937

'Sold' (2014). A Bali Tigress and her cub.
There was a time when Bali Tigers – the Panthera tigris balica – used to roam the deep jungles of Bali. Not any more. The last known tiger, an adult female, was killed in Sumberkima, West Bali, on September 27, 1937.

'Sold' (Photographed in 2021).

During the Dutch colonial period, hunting trips were organised for European sportsmen who had a romantic – but disastrous – Victorian hunting mentality, and were equipped with high-powered rifles.

The preferred hunting method for the Bali Tiger was to catch them with a large, heavy-steel foot-trap hidden under bait – a goat or a muntjac – and then shoot them at close range.

'Exploited Land' (2014) by Wild Drawing

Social-political street art / Mural in Bali, Indonesia

Tourism / Land sales / Exploitation

Social-political mural by the Balinese street-artist Wild Drawing protesting the exploitation of buying and selling land and rice-fields in Bali, Indonesia

'Exploited Land' (2014).
Social-political mural by the Balinese street-artist Wild Drawing protesting the exploitation of buying and selling land and rice-fields in Bali, Indonesia.
Street Art © 2014 Wild Drawing ('WD').
Photograph © 2018 Wild Drawing / www.wdstreetart.com.

'Captured by Big Brother' (2018) by Wild Drawing (WD)

Social-political street art / Mural in Bali, Indonesia

Facebook / Social media / Invasion of privacy / Traditional Balinese life

A Facebook robot uses a smartphone to photograph and invade the privacy of a shy and scared Balinese woman in traditional costume on the island of Nusa Penida, Bali Province, Indonesia

'Captured by Big Brother' (2018).
A Facebook robot uses a smartphone to photograph and invade the privacy of a shy and scared Balinese woman in traditional costume on the island of Nusa Penida, Bali Province, Indonesia.
Urban Art © 2018 Wild Drawing ('WD').
Photograph © 2018 Wild Drawing / www.wdstreetart.com.

'Born in a Cage' (2018) by Wild Drawing (WD)

Social-political street art / Mural in Bali, Indonesia

Oppression of personal freedom of thought and self-expression

Street-art highlighting the oppression of freedom of thought by the Balinese muralist 'Wild Drawing' in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia

'Born in a Cage' (2018).
Street art highlighting the oppression of personal freedom of thought in Indonesia by the Balinese muralist 'Wild Drawing' in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia.
Urban Art © 2018 Wild Drawing ('WD').
Photograph © 2018 Wild Drawing / www.wdstreetart.com

Defaced street-art highlighting the oppression of freedom of thought by the Balinese muralist 'Wild Drawing' in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia

'Born in a Cage' in 2020.
Two years later. Vandalized street-art highlighting the oppression of personal freedom of thought in Indonesia by the Balinese muralist 'Wild Drawing' in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia.
Mural © 2018 Wild Drawing ('WD').
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

'Born in a Cage' in 2020.
Two years later. Vandalised mural highlighting the oppression of personal freedom of thought in Indonesia by the Balinese street-artist 'Wild Drawing' in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia.
Street Art © 2018 Wild Drawing ('WD').
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

'Born in a Cage' in 2020.
Two years later. Defaced street-art highlighting the oppression of personal freedom of thought in Indonesia by the Balinese muralist 'Wild Drawing' in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia.
Mural Art © 2018 Wild Drawing ('WD').
Photograph © 2020 Ubud High.

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'NESTalgic' (2014) by Wild Drawing (WD)

Street art / Mural in Bali, Indonesia

Newborn baby / Nest

'NESTalgic'.
Street art by the Balinese muralist 'Wild Drawing' in Bali, Indonesia.
Street Art © 2014 Wild Drawing ('WD') of The Pojoks Art Collective, Bali.
Photograph © 2014 Wild Drawing / www.wdstreetart.com.

Wild Drawing 3D street art of a baby sicking up milk in Bali, Indonesia

'NESTalgic' in 2020. A slightly defaced baby looks like it's sicking up some milk by the Balinese master of the 3D trompe-l'œil, 'Wild Drawing' of Nusa Penida, Indonesia.
Street Art by © 2014 Wild Drawing ('WD').
Photograph by © 2020 Ubud High.

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'Owlself' (2017) by Wild Drawing (WD)

Street art / Mural in Bali, Indonesia

Owlish things

'Owlself'.
Street art by the Balinese muralist 'Wild Drawing' in Bali, Indonesia.
Urban Art © 2020 Wild Drawing ('WD') of The Pojoks Art Collective, Bali.
Photograph © 2020 Wild Drawing.

☬ Locations of Wild Drawing's Street Art in Bali, Indonesia

Locations of murals by the Balinese street-artist Wild Drawing in Bali, Indonesia

Locations of murals by the Balinese street-artist Wild Drawing on Bali and Nusa Penida, Indonesia.

If you're on Bali, open up the local Google interactive map. If you're anywhere else in the world, you're definitely going to need the international version... The lad gets around.

Detailed locations of murals by the street-artist Wild Drawing in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia

Detailed locations of murals by the street-artist Wild Drawing in and around Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia.

✎ Wild Drawing in the Press/Media

The Jakarta Post, August 2020:
'Globe-trotting muralist captures public imagination, one wall at a time'

◐ Worldwide Web

w ~ www.wdstreetart.com
ig ~ wd_wilddrawing
fb ~ WD street art

✆ Enquiries

For enquiries, please contact WD at wdstreetart1 [at] gmail [dot] com ~ English, Indonesian, Balinese and Greek spoken.

↻ Back to A Bali 'Art Attack

More Balinese Street Art at Ubud High

Urban Artists in the Wild ~ Bali's Street Art Scene

Street art in Canggu by the graffiti artist Quint, and a wild rabbit by an unknown urban artist on the road to Ubud in Bali, Indonesia

⇨ An eclectic mix of street art and urban murals on the walls of Canggu, Seminyak, Kuta and Ubud in Bali ⇨
Photographs by © 2020 Ubud High.

⇨ See 26 more works of street/urban art and murals on Bali's walls ⇨

Street art, murals, graffiti and tagging by international urban artists at Taman Festival Theme Park, Bali

Urban art, murals and graffiti galore at the derelict and haunted Taman Festival Theme Park in Bali

Urban & street art, murals, tagging and graffiti at the derelict – and most definitely haunted – Taman Festival Theme Park, Bali. Just watch your step...
Photographs by © 2020 Ubud High.

⇨ See 30 more works of street and urban art at Taman Festival, Bali ⇨

ARMA ~ The Agung Rai Museum of Art

Classical, traditional, contemporary and modern Balinese art

Ubud's ARMA – the Agung Rai Museum of Art – is home to over 200 modern and traditional works of art that paint Bali's story in ways you've only dreamt of.

File under 'Rare Left Field'.

Balinese painting by I Wayan Turun of Lord Arjuna and Dewi Supraba as they are escorted to heaven by angels

'Arjuna Wiwaha' at the ARMA Art Gallery, Ubud, by I Wayan Turun of Tebesaya, Peliatan, Bali.
After killing Natakwaca, Lord Arjuna the archer sits side-by-side with Dewi Supraba as they are escorted to heaven by angels.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.

'Sabung Ayam' (Cock-fighting) by the Balinese painter I Ketut Tagen of 'The Young Artists School of Painting', Penestanan, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

'Sabung Ayam' (Cock-fighting) by the Balinese painter I Ketut Tagen – another young pupil snatched from the cradle by Dutch artist Arie Smit to form his stable of 'Young Artists' in Penestanan, Ubud.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.

⇨ See 29 more works of art at ARMA ~ The Agung Rai Museum of Art in Ubud, Bali ⇨

The Last Pic

Portrait of the Day

Portraits from Bali by Ubud High

Photograph by © Ubud High.

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The Ubud Handbook

THE UBUD HANDBOOK ~ Your free guide to living in Ubud and Bali in an online nutshell.

Religion Matters

∞ The Tale of Ganesha the Globetrotter ~ Bali's Elephant-Headed Hindu God

A young Lord Ganesha writes a chapter of The Mahabharata with his broken tusk at a stone-carver's shop in Batubulan, Bali, Indonesia

‘First stop on Shree Ganesha's round-Asia tour was a spell in Buddhist Tibet with its strong tantric leanings – a convenient spot to re-invent himself as Vinãyaka, and then as the dancing red Nritta Ganapati – before a full-blown alter-ego revamp as the scarlet, twelve-armed Maharakta Ganapati. Now, Maharakta Ganapati was unusually fond of skullcaps filled with human flesh and blood – and this we might charitably put down to a bad trip.

After all, what happens in Tibet stays in Tibet...’

.. ➤ ..

∞ An American Calonarang ~ Trance & Possession on Bali

Balinese-Hindu offerings of rice, money, sweets, holy water and flower petals at Sebatu Springs, Bali, Indonesia

‘To cut an all-night story short, the mask was donned by a dancer who fell into a deep trance. But instead of staying in the temple, he began to run. And run. He became violent and uncontrollable. He ran for four kilometers down the road – the crowd scrambled after him. He ended up in a cemetery just past my house, and in the dead of night began to do frenzied battle with unseen foes...’

.. ➤ ..

∞ 'Nyepi' ~ Bali's Hindu New Year, and the Day of Silence ~ Melasti, Ngerupuk, Ogoh-Ogoh & Manis Nyepi

Balinese-Hindu devotees pray as sacred temple objects are bathed and cleansed during a Melasti ceremony before Nyepi on Pantai Purnama in Bali, Indonesia

‘If previous New Years' Days have seen you waking up with a crippling hangover trying to remember what you did the night before, maybe it's time you headed to Bali in March. Nyepi – the Balinese Day of Silence, and the start of the Hindu Saka New Year – is a day, a night and a day you'll never forget....’

.. ➤ ..

∞ 'Kajeng Kliwon' ~ A Very Bad-Hair Day on Bali

Film poster for Indonesian horror film 'Kajeng Kliwon: Nightmare in Bali'

‘Kajeng Kliwon is the kind of day when anything that can happen will happen. It invariably does.

You have been seriously warned...’

.. ➤ ..

Personal Stories

∞ Diary of a Market Girl

Photo-realistic urban art by an anonymous street artist of a 1930s market scene in Bali, Indonesia

“When I had my sixth and seventh babies at the hospital – my twin girls – the doctor ordered me to have a Caesarian. And without asking me, he tied my tubes off as well.

I think he thought I'd had enough babies...”

.. ➤ ..

Food Talk

∞ Durian ~ The King of Stink

“On the third bite,” says one hater, “it was as though I'd just eaten a diseased, parasite-infested animal with a bad case of rabies. I prayed I wouldn't be sick because I really didn't want to taste it again on the way back up...”

.. ➤ ..

Culture Bites

∞ Cinema Paradiso ~ Bali's Seat in the History of Indonesian Cinema

1932 Virgins of Bali Thirties nudie-cutie bare-native film poster 1930s Bali, Indonesia

‘Boobs and political censorship have never been far from the Silver Screen – in Indonesia, they're its bedrock. The silent flicks of Thirties' Bali sucked hungrily on the island's bare-breasted cabinet-postcard image that encouraged so many gilded tourists – and dodgy film-stars like Charlie Chaplin – to visit its sultry, forbidden shores...’

.. ➤ ..

Getting Around ~ Bali 'Biking

∞ Surviving Bali on a 'Bike

Motorbike accident victim being treated for a leg-injury in an Ubud clinic in Bali, Indonesia

“For me, some of the most dangerous people on the road are white people. I avoid them like the plague. You can tell the ones who are going to hurt others – the fixed grins, the hunched over the handle-bars, the wobbling around corners and shouts of indignation when they finally hit someone – because they have absolutely no idea how life and the road works around here...”

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∞ It's Silly Season Again ~ Renting a Scooter, and Crashing it, on Bali

A monkey tourist crashes his scooter in a road accident in Bali, Indonesia

‘She tears into the traffic. She can't stop. She narrowly misses hitting a car head-on, swerves past a mum on a 'bike and slaloms across the road. Before she hits anyone – it's a miracle she doesn't – she falls in a bad-sounding heap of bent metal and smashing plastic. A group of Balinese rush to pick her up before the cops see her...’

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∞ The Other Side of the Coin ~ Just Another Motorbike Accident on Bali

Mural by an anonymous street-artist of a crashed, burned-out Honda 70 scooter in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia

‘She starts sweeping and I notice she's limping. There's a spreading bruise and an angry graze running past her knee and down her calf. She wants to carry on cleaning – I sit her down and ask her what happened.

She's shy; I press...’

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Health Matters

∞ Let's Get Wet ~ The Rainy Season on Bali

Blue sky pokes from behind a gathering of stormy monsoon clouds over Bali, Indonesia

‘Rule number one on a monsoon day? Don't get wet.

You may not realise that getting caught in a cloudburst or shower on Bali – particularly if you're on a motorbike – is the tropical equivalent of walking naked outside during a Prague Winter after a lukewarm bath.

It'll really slow you down. The shivers, hot-and-cold flushes, a chesty cough, diarrhoea, sneezing, stomach pains, a belting headache and aching bones are all at the top of the list...’

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∞ Scorpions, Mosquitoes, Hornets, Poisonous Caterpillars... And Other Strange Tails on Bali

‘Nowhere is free from the tax of life. We all have to pay for our slice of Bali paradise – and this often comes in the shape of our biting, stinging, crawling, flying-insect cousins.

It's the downside of environment-sharing...’

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Holidays from the Jungle

∞ The Heads of Trunyan

‘Agricultural, and unpractised in the dark art of handling international tourists, the aristocratic farmer-people of Trunyan have acquired a damaging reputation for aggression. Their unique tourist draw – a jungle-cemetery where bodies are left in the open to disintegrate underneath a magical banyan tree – is regularly shunned by travellers on the time-sensitive tourist circuit...’

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∞ Lombok ~ A Line in the Sand

‘Ten meters away and the young man finally looks up – an inane, animal-like grin taped across his face as his girlfriend grips his porcelain butt and grimaces towards the empty blue sky. They disengage like street dogs, utter an invective in Russian, and stare...’

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Tourism & Self-Enrichment

∞ Eat, Pray, Self-Love

I love-heart Ubud, Canggu, Seminya, Sanur and Kuta in Bali, Indonesia

‘My concentration's shot to pieces. The spaghetti keeps falling off my fork. She's on her third large beer now. She starts to say 'facking' even more, and is speaking so loudly that people passing on the street have begun to look her way, and she's spitting bits of ciabatta bread and tomato and fish into her friend's dinner...’

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∞ From Ubud With Love

Will you marry? in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

‘I'm staying at a cute, family-run bed-and-breakfast – a homestay – on Ubud's trendy Jalan Goutama. A young member of the homestay's family tours her compound, blessing it with incense and rice and flower-petal offerings in little hand-made palm-leaf boxes.

All is well in Bali's spiritual capital...’

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∞ A Dutchman Goes to a Gypsy Fortune-Teller

‘A Dutch boy in Holland goes to a gypsy fortune-teller who tells him that he is, in fact, Balinese. Afterwards, his uncle visits the Island of the Gods and brings him back a wooden carving of a bare-breasted lady.

Lucky for him it wasn't one of those funny-shaped wooden bottle-openers that looks like a cock...’

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∞ The Land of Self-Healing and Snake Oil

Yoga-wear for an Ubud yogini manifesting her abundance, exploring her Divine Feminine and inserting a Jade Egg at The Womb Temple near The Yoga Barn in Bali

‘Shake out those Kundalini Awakenings with some HoopYogini™ and Bhakti Boogie® at the Yoga Barn. Celebrate The Divine Feminine with a splash of Shakti Dance. Puff up your lungs in a Sacred Breathwork Immersion Workshop®, insert a Jade Egg for luck at The Womb Temple™ and polish it off with some tantalising Manifesting And Abundance.

You know you're worth it...’

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Urban art of a young Balinese girl using a cellphone by the street artist Wild Drawing of Bali, Indonesia

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And finally, the weather

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Fake styrofoam clouds over the main 'Cloud' stage at the 'Plastic-Free Gili Air Music Festival' near Lombok, Indonesia