Darbotz

(b. 1981, Indonesian)

Darbotz is an Indonesian graffiti artist based in Jakarta. His visualization style is distinctive and unique. He has a strategy for his color choice, which solely emphasizes his use of blacks and whites. He believes that black and white balances out the urban setting’s festive colors coming from billboards, neon boxes, and city lights. By using monochromatic colors, his artwork could stand out amongst the immense visual density. His style reflects the dynamic of urban society because it continually evolves. Through his works, he learned to accept his reality of living in an urban society like Jakarta and further explore the beauty behind the madness. He develops a visual characteristic that reflects his identity, which is easily recognized without putting his name in his artworks.

Darbotz created his distinct character or his alter ego called Cumi Kong back in 2004. He has shown his style and recurring character transform by experimenting and placing it in various media such as canvas, apparel, etc. He admits that there are challenges every time he experiments with a new medium. Unlike painting on the streets, painting on other mediums is limited to a much smaller space, and it lacks the street ambiance, such as smelling the scents of the road, listening to the sound of cars passing by, and looking at the busy streets of Jakarta.

Darbotz has participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions worldwide, including Off The Wall, France and Indonesian graffiti group exhibition for three consecutive years at Art Moments Jakarta in 2019, Artstage Singapore in 2017, and the National Museum of Indonesia in 2016. He has held several solo exhibitions, including Monster in Disguise #2 at Bazaar Art Pacific Place, Jakarta (2016), and Monster Inside Us at MIFA, Australia (2013). Besides working on the streets, Darbotz work is well-known among world-renowned companies and collaborates with some of them, such as Nike, Google chrome, DC Shoes Indonesia, and more. He is also one of the founders of Tembokbomber.com, one of the major street art and graffiti communities in Indonesia. Moreover, Darbotz also produces clothing and merchandise products featuring his character.