Peer/Peer Collaborations

British Artist Chris Angell × Indonesian Artist Budi Agung Kuswara

What happened during the collaboration?

Chris Angell, based at Barrington Farm Art Studios in England, was paired with artist and Ketemu Project founder Budi Agung Kuswara in Bali, Indonesia. The first Zoom involved sharing their practices and deciding that they’d both like to try working in the style of the other. Chris was fascinated by the beautiful indigo blue cyanotypes that Budi printed and worked into. Art et al. commissioned local artist Kate Munro to teach Chris this skill, to enable him to learn the processes that Budi uses. Upon sharing, Budi said, “The sun you use to make your print is the same sun that I use to make mine.” To Chris, this felt like it brought them closer together. He also enjoyed learning about Indonesian animals and nature, featuring some of these in future works. For Budi, he wanted to try and emulate how loose Chris was when drawing, and to be more spontaneous, making less plans. Each week, his works became freer, and one week they each used the other person’s line drawings within their own works to blend the two styles together. The final two collaborative works were cyanotypes (see images overleaf), featuring drawing and painting on top, with both artists showcasing their differing styles, making for an interesting blend and set of stories.

Biographies

CHRIS ANGELL is a self-taught artist working in North Norfolk at the Barrington Farm Studios since 2001. Never afraid to experiment, Chris is confident in a variety of materials and techniques, though he works predominantly in pastels or acrylic pens in subdued colours on paper or board. His interests and subject matter are wide ranging and are often comments on popular culture or current events, with a surrealist edge. Portraiture is also a major source of inspiration for Chris.

BUDI AGUNG KUSWARA (Kabul) is a Balinese contemporary artist who views material as a living character and is not limited to objects or subjects within his work. Budi explores various historical techniques to bring about different atmospheres in his paintings. For example he uses a cyanotype process on stretched canvas which is a technique he developed over many years. In 2013, Budi founded the Ketemu Project.