Betta Dance Series

Sumatra-born artist Lugas Syllabus playfully fuses the heritage, myths and personal anecdotes into a surrealistic narrative of the modern-day Southeast Asia. Inspired by the beauty and hard lives of Betta, the artist features a hybridised blossoming flower with petals akin to Siamese fighting fish in Betta Dance Series (Lot 152). Staged in a golden landscape that represents the flourishing fruits resulting from daytime work, Syllabus pays tribute to the diligence of the working class and the lush, natural scenery through the mystical, dreamy forest. The fluorescent tubes suggest a whimsical and contemporary interpretation of Betta more than a mere flora and fauna. The reconstructed, seemingly eclectic fighting fish/flower is a mix of organisms from various origins. The artist metaphorically shares his personal introspections of a domestic migrant from Sumatra to Java. To foster the dialogues of migrants and share the psyche of the worldly citizens, he also created a character called 'Brother G.ge', which is a clan of eggs that would never leave their shells. They carry along their home during their lives and signifies the importance of heritage and roots to the artist. The fantastical visual intensity, the abundant symbols, together with the organized and meticulous details of Betta Dance Series weave into a glamourous narrative. Whilst reminiscent of a sci-fi fiction, Betta Dance Series has a humanistic approach to the humble love of the artist towards his home, memories and cultures.