"Eko Nugroho: STRANGE MONSTER VIEW," a solo exhibition at STPI – Creative Workshop & Gallery in Singapore, closes on Saturday, October 10, 2026. On view since August 22, the show presents new work made during the Indonesian artist's second residency at STPI, following a first in 2012.
Nugroho populates the exhibition with masked, mutant figures that blur the line between human and machine. Drawing on street art, graffiti and comics, he turns things he noticed day to day in Singapore into a satirical look at tourism, architecture and culture in the city-state, and at the shared experiences that shape national identity. Many of his characters are altered by televisions and smartphones, pointing to life in a world saturated by screens.
The works were produced at STPI across several techniques. Screenprints with foiling and flocking on linen include "WE WATCH BEHIND THE GRASS," in which eyes peer out from under thick foliage, and "WE WATCH BEHIND THE BONES," where the eyes are hidden behind carcasses. A series in mokulito, or wood lithography, reflects his time in Singapore: in "NOW EVERYONE IS LOST," figures are absorbed in their phones, while "I SEE INDEPENDENCE" and "WE ARE REAL TOURISTS" use National Day fireworks and steamed buns to look at how culture and identity become spectacle through digital images.
Embossed works on STPI handmade paper bring abstraction into a largely figurative practice. In the "MAPPING THE PEACE SYSTEM" series, fluorescent geometric shapes sit over reduced outlines of his masked figures, an approach Nugroho links to the way Singapore's planned urban spaces shape everyday experience. A group of woodblock prints with flocking, among them "WE CARE," "WE SHARE" and "WE AWARE," returns to words he treats as core principles, presenting his figures as advocates of solidarity and empathy.
Born in 1977 and based in Yogyakarta, Nugroho combines traditional Indonesian techniques such as batik, embroidery and shadow puppetry with the language of street art, caricature, animation and comics. His work addresses democracy, freedom, identity and the urban environment.
In the final days of the run, STPI is holding a "Mokulito: Mundane Monsters" class on October 7, and guided tours of the exhibition continue until it closes.
