Miles Van Rensselaer has exhibited professionally for over 15 years; his first solo show was at Heller Gallery in 2005 in NYC. His works are well-conceived juxtapositions of material and concept that...
Though the spirit world lives among the physical in all of Indonesia, it is perhaps nowhere more visible than on Bali. People surround their daily worlds with depictions of ravaging monsters in ongoing, painstaking efforts to ward off evil; they make never-ending offerings of flowers, food and holy water to appease any of those that stay. The two sides of this world, good/evil, aggressive/ submissive, male/female, are in constant, delicate balance. Architecture and art are deeply intertwined with the spirit world in Balinese family compounds and Dayak long houses headers, galleries, posts and joists are all covered with intricate images of dragons, snakes, demons, birds. Portals between worlds are highly vulnerable areas that require constant protective vigil. With up to 200 doorways, Dayak long houses are covered in Protector Heads, to insure a tribe’s well being – physical, emotional, and, of course, spiritual. This side is a more contemporary design, based on "Topeng Meguap" or yawning mask of Bali (though Westerners tend to the Munch's The Scream...)