Juxtaposed Ideologies: Exploring Sequential Art as Social Critique

Ever since inception, comics have always occupied a position of a lower art form. Even when framed and taken into the galleries—from Lichtensttein in the West to Murakami in the East—it is mostly a means to speeak of the vacuity of pop culture. But can comics do more?

Rooted firmly in the Superflat tradition, but also taking cues from street art and urban crafts, Bonni Rambatan explores of comics as both a form of visual art but also a narrative technique. Taking comics off the page and into installations and combining various print, digital, and sculptural media, Rambatan attempts to push the form of sequential art into something rarely seen in its turf.

“Juxtaposed Ideologies” refer to both the artist’s collage technique, but also its subject matter: Right-wing extremism, Left-wing tribalism, conspiracy thinking, and a pervasive sense of postmodern cynicism all seem to juxtapose themselves in the multiplicity of screens in our day-to-day life. What do we make of all this mess? Such is the question Rambatan attempts to tackle in his two short comics.

Join the Artist Talk at 7pm on Monday, 15 January 2018 to read the two pieces at their premiere presentation at Raum D, Q21 MuseumsQuartier Wien and participate in a discussion with the artist himself!

www.monochrom.at