  With more or less the same opinion, Asri Wright also
believes Adi’s works of this period are contradictary. The dominating forms of ideal
mathematics and hard-edged photography raise an association with scientific rational
thought, he believes. Asri also wrote, however, that the painter reveals that his work is
born from the awareness and spiritual intuitive of being free from the intellectual ratio.
Perhaps the two opinions from these critics are correct. But it is
possible that the contradiction will disappear if we interpret Adi’s painting in the
philosophical context, which is the basis of all of his creative works. Adi craves for
perfection, and pure geometrical or mathematical forms are closest to the perfect image. A
pure or perfect triangle, for instance, simply exists as a mathematical concept and cannot
actually be found in a concrete form. In this case, Adi falls in line with Karl Popper,
who believes that every invention, whether scientific or artistic, mathematical or
mystical, can be similar, because each of these implies the power of imagination, an
“irrational element”, or “creative intuition”.
To understand the perfection, of course, requires detailed research
into something that is not perfect. The robotic body shapes or torsos with visible bones,
tissues and tendons are, most likely, the reflection of Adi’s contemplation of our
imperfection. Through this prototype, Adi clearly expresses the idea that to be perfect
there must be other qualities involved beyond simply the body and its properties.
 Coming to
the decade of the 1990s, Adi entered a new period in the course of his creative
development. His works began to look clearer, simpler, and more focused - indicating a
higher stage in the awareness of the meaning of the essence of human lives and living. It
was as if Adi had come closer to a definition of what “to be a human” is and how
to inspire humanity. There was no prototype characters or “semi human” forms on
his canvas anymore.
Geometrical or cube shapes that had been crowded together in piles in
the previous period slowly disappeared, and the open space on the canvas was replaced by
flat two-dimensional surfaces. These were divided into a number of sections that were
frequently wide enough to act as a background to his painting composition.
Philosophically, the paint on Adi’s canvas began to become more conceptual. Alluding
to the depth of the space that was once as knotty and mysterious as a labyrinth - which
had been specifically attractive to his devotees - the intensity decreased and the space
opened up. The emotional depth of the painter was apparent in the composition, and the
choice of the colour black in the works of previous period was replaced with the more
silent meditative atmosphere of soft bright colours.
My contemplations used to focus on personal problems,” Adi said. “But I finally
realised that personal contemplation is not in compliance with universal values. That is
the reason why I allow universal profiles - such as Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Martin Luther
King, and even John Lennon - to enter my work, as they represent my contemplations and my
questions about humanity and perfection.”
Widening the zone of inner inquiry from personal to social, and even into the universal
realm, is not without any risk. Whether he likes it or not, Adi must realise that his
ideal concepts of perfection and humanity collide with the contradictory facts. The world
is too crowded with dehumanising practices, while the social environment and interpersonal
relationships are also declining, so reality is far from perfect.
Perhaps that is the reason why Adi’s more recent works hide a gloomy harmony. The
characters he draws always look airborne, and they are clearly profiles that don’t
bear an inner burden. But the blank spots that take a lot of space on Adi’s canvas
confirm the gloomy feeling and forbidding silence. This gloomy imagery, which is visible
in the “Self Portrait” (1994), conveys a very deep sorrow.
Nevertheless, Adi does not have a pessimistic profile. However bitter
the reality, he still believes in hope and expectation. In his work “Looking into
Future” (1992), Adi unashamedly states his clear optimism that there must be space
for a better life.
Top : Dream of Love , 1997
Below: Looking in the Future, 1992
end |
