Jakarta, b. unknown

Atreyu Moniaga is an Indonesian artist based in Jakarta. He gradu- ated with a degree in Communications and Visual Design from the Jakarta Institute of the Arts (IKJ) and started his career in the creative scene as a freelance illustrator and photographer. His works are influ- enced by dark fantasies with a tinge of surrealism, in which he com- bines visual symbolisms as a way to communicate his most private thoughts, feelings, and desires. Although he takes inspiration from somber sentients, his works are characterized by a whimsical universe filled with beautiful ornamental details. Working primarily in paint- ing and drawing, Atreyu has recently explored sculpting and remains open to cross-disciplinary collaborations. Complex emotions that are often perceived as negative, such as despair, grief, and anguish but they are fuels to his artistic process. Moniaga tries to convey these emotions through the visual universe he invented. Incorporating reference from popular culture, medie- val legends, and religious stories, Moniaga crafts symbols and coded visual languages in his paintings as a way to express his innermost thoughts, feelings, and desires. He hopes his audience can find a source of hopefulness and self-acceptance to confront their own grim facets. He often allows himself to be lost in his own thoughts, where He feels unbound in creating these fictional stories and characters found in his works, his universe.