Exhibition at the Contemporary

I Gusti Ayu Kadek Murniasih- 

Feels Strangely Good Ya?

When I first arrived at the exhibition of I Gusti Ayu Kadek Murniasih at Nottingham Contemporary, I quickly realised I was unprepared for what I was about to see. I did not know who she was before visiting, so I had no expectations going in. The work immediately felt bold and confronting, asking the viewer to sit with discomfort rather than look away.

There was a lot of genital imagery throughout the exhibition, which felt quite overwhelming at first. Seeing so many penises was not the first thing I imagined encountering in the gallery. However, as I spent more time with the work, it became clear that this openness was intentional. A quote displayed on the wall reads, “I paint to feel that I exist.” This line stayed with me and helped me understand the urgency behind her imagery. Her paintings speak openly about female autonomy, sexuality, pain and power, subjects that are often silenced or softened.

After the initial shock, the second thing that really struck me was the colour. I loved the way she paired cerise pinks with sky blues. The palette felt bold and confident, and I was drawn in by how visually striking the work was. The paintings are quite flat and cartoon-like in style, which contrasts sharply with the intensity of the subject matter.

As I spent more time with the exhibition, I began to feel a strong sense of pain and restriction running through many of the pieces. Recurring motifs appear throughout the work, including high-heeled shoes, watches and butterflies. The wristwatch straps tied around breasts, and figures that appear bound or restrained, made the work feel physically uncomfortable to look at. Beneath the bright colours and simplified forms, there is a clear sense of control, vulnerability and confinement.

Knowing that Murniasih was diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer adds another layer of weight to the exhibition. With this in mind, the work feels even more urgent and personal, as if painting was a way for her to assert her existence and agency through her body and her art.