Mohammad Taufiq

Mohammad Taufiq has for over 20 years enjoyed a career as a visual artist, illustrator and designer and is well known by the pronunciation of his initials in Indonesian, Emte – read em-tey, rather than empty, as it would sound in English. Indeed Emte’s extensive CV is the antithesis of empty. His practice as a visual artist may only take up part of his studio work, but since 2012 he has been consistently exhibiting, gaining increasing recognition for his natural flair and attention to detail.

Born in 1979 in Jakarta, the middle child of Javanese-Sundanese parents, Emte grew up with the support of his white collar working father and housewife mother who recognised his artistic abilities early on. Like many contemporary artists in Indonesia Emte was drawn to comics and spent his teenage years illustrating for his favourite magazines of the time. Mastering the art of drawing caricatures and street scenes, at the age of 20 Emte had his work exhibited in the National Comic and Animation Exhibition held at the National Gallery of Indonesia in 1999.

With a successful commercial career as an illustrator, Emte comes to his visual art practice with a freedom to explore and experiment and a willingness to make mistakes in order to exten...

1998-2004 : Bachelor in Graphic Design, Jakarta Institute of Arts (IKJ), Jakarta - Indonesia

Solo exhibitions:
2014
-SOFT VIOLENCE (platform3, Bandung)
2015
-MELIHAT API BEKERJA, poetry and drawing collaboration with M Aan Mansyur (Edwin’s Gallery, Jakarta)

Selected group exhibitions and projects:

2019
-TERMASUK : Contemporary Art From Indonesia (Darren Knight Gallery - Sydney, Australia)
-Intention, Please! (Edwin’s Gallery, Jakarta)
-17.000 Islands Of Imagination - Indonesia Market Focus -London Book Fair (London, United Kingdom)
-Sound of the Wall (Live Mural project - Studio 249 Liberte Concept - London, United Kingdom)
-Eastern Rhythms - Sofia Paper Art Festival (The Triangle Tower - Sofia, Bulgaria)
-Super Art Fest Comic & Illustration Exhibition (Aksara Kemang, Jakarta)
-Seoul Illustration Fair 7 (Seoul, Korea)
-China Licensing Expo 2019 (National Exhibition and Convention Center, Shanghai)
-Asia Illustration Fair (Powerlong Museum, Shanghai)
-Yogyakarta Komik Weeks (Museum Sonobudoyo, Yogyakarta)
-illunesia 2 : The tale Continues (Austellungsraum Eulenglasse, Frankfurt-Germany)


2018
-A Small Universe in The Field of Meaning (Edwin’s Gallery, Jakarta)
-On Traces (Edwin’s Gallery, Jakarta)
-Reka Rupa Rasa Illustration Festival (Dia.Lo.Gue art space, Jakarta)
-Spektrum : 100 years trib...