RYOL

BIOGRAPHY

Yogyakarta based Artist, Laksamana Ryo, a.k.a Ryol, has been focusing his skills in visual art, especially pop culture visual art. Originally a musician-wannabe, Ryol turned his passion into becoming a pop culture visual artist, with his own childhood as his biggest influence. 
He cites his parents and Sunday cartoon TV programs as being the ‘early stage’ that unconsciously transformed him into an artist with the freedom and responsibility necessary to create.

TECHNIQUE

“The way I imitate popular images, such as the anime/cartoon figures I received as a child, cannot be separated from the way pop artists work. Like other pop artists, who frequently adopt icons from mass culture, such as advertisements, photos, comic strips, magazines, films, or other sources related to mass products/cultures.
As a pop artist it is a dilemma for me. I feel the same way when I paint popular images on canvas.
The hybrid image composition can be seen in the Felix Silhouette series. At first glance, it appears to be a mutant, combining the imagery of anime and western cartoons in the same figure. This composition is not present by chance. It is a response to my doubts about plagiarism in art. 
In contrast, Western Pop Art rides mass culture and frequently engages in appropriation.

Therefore, I choose to deconstruct rather than imitate. I don't feel associated with Pop Art in the West. 
My perspective as a growing consumer of popular culture in the age of globalization is an authentic part of the artistic process.”