Death of Art Brut author Ni Tanjung

It is with deep sadness that the Collection de l'Art Brut announces the death of Ni Tanjung (1930 - 2020) on July 17th.

In the solitude of her windowless room, Ni Tanjung used to draw thousands of multicolored faces. Mainly she draws women's faces—self-portraits or her ancestors, or else imaginary figures belonging to her personal theater. It was the death of her husband that inspired her to take up drawing. The shock was such that she fell ill: feeble and scrawny, she was transported to her daughter's place in the neighboring village. Here, this old woman in her skinny and fragile state began drawing, doing cutouts and, above all, fashioning complex and extremely creative assemblages of paper figures.
Her montages, comprising several colored cutouts, are done in crayon on plain paper. They reconstitute the history of her life, bringing back to life her ancestors and those near and dear to her.
Although she can no longer dance as she once liked to do, she sometimes breaks out in song and animates scenes between several characters. She is wont to meticulously place about a dozen drawings, cutouts and large assemblages against the wall and across the bed.  Once all her creations are thus on display, Ni Tanjung takes out a little mirror to gaze at her works indirectly. The process allows her to so-to-speak implant their image in her memory. In fact, she cannot release any of her creations without having carried out this symbolic act.

Artsworks by Ni Tanjung can be seen at the Collection de l'Art Brut in the exhibition "Theatre", until august 30.

 

Publish Date: 18.07.2020