Naufal Abshar

(b. 1993, Indonesian)

Naufal Abshar is a promising young Indonesian artist based in Jakarta and Singapore. Graduated from Lasalle College of the Arts, Singapore, partnership with the Goldsmith University of London, Naufal has participated in various group exhibitions in places as diverse as Singapore, Hong Kong, Venice, Washington DC, New York City and Lithuania. He has participated in several residency programs including the SURP New York Academy of Art, New York City, USA (2019), Working Journey and Cultural Project, Valladolid-Madrid (2017), Independent Art Residency Project, Italy (2017) and Geneng Street Art Residency Project, Yogyakarta (2013). In 2013, he gained his first recognition as an artist in the Indonesia Arts Festival live painting competition. In 2018, Naufal held his solo exhibition at D Gallerie with the title The World of Entertainment, curated by Chabib Duta Hapsoro. With his “HAHA” series, Naufal explores the roots and boundaries of humor and laughter.

As an artist, Naufal is profoundly inspired and conscious of the teachings of French philosopher Henri Bergson, who researched the meaning of laughter and observed its social function. Naufal’s work explores the combination of the concepts of laughter and humor, which is universal to human culture. HAHA is a typical representation of laughter in various activities, including laughing as a feeling of victory, laughing as a form of sarcasm, laughing induced by insanity, or being a method of rejecting fears. Through his artworks, he attempts to twist the role of laughter or humor into repetition as a method to construct social criticism. The extensive use of political humor and satirical laughter illustrates how he uses laughter as a positive emotion that may imply criticism.