Gusti Ayu Kadek Murniasih (Murni)

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"...was born near Tabanan in central Bali in 1966.  Soon after, she moved with her parents to Sulawesi on a government transmigration program, where she grew up with poor access to schooling.  Entering the work force at the age of ten, she left her family and moved back to Bali on her own, to seek opportunity independently.  Working as a silver-jewellry maker in Celuk, she joined the hundreds of Balinese women who work for low wages in local businesses that serve the tourist and export industries.  A few years later, she emerged out of an unsuccessful marriage wondering what she was going to do with her life, unwilling to fit into the pattern of marriage, children and around-the-clock work, both domestic and in the underpaid workforce, while carrying the considerable ceremonial family duties which women perform on a daily basis and men only occasionally.

Murni had loved to paint as a child but had never considered it as a serious possibility for a life vocation.  Nothing in the environments she had known indicated that it might be. Then, in her late twenties, three fortunate circumstances came together for Murni: she met two artists in Ubud who influenced her and the Seniwati Gallery for Women Artists in Bali· was founded (see Wright 1995).  The Italian artist Mondo residing in Ubud convinced Murni that it was not that far-fetched that she might paint, too, if she wished.  She had done it once, so why not now? The senior and highly original Pengosekan artist Mokoh, with his greater-than-average Balinese tolerance for beyond-the-norm approaches to art, encouraged her to start painting again and offered advice on technique and materials. The message was clear, both from within as well as from her surroundings: trust your desire and try the path of your heart."

Murni died January 2006