Affandi

A sway-backed barong keket (protective lion-like creature) dominates the right two-thirds of this dynamic composition. The personification of evil, rangda (widow-witch), with long fangs and bulging eyes, is on the left. Together they symbolize the never ending battle between positive and negative forces of the cosmos. In ritual dance performances held in the outer courtyards of temples in Bali, they attack each other in rather violent confrontations, their long hair swirling about. A parasol is held above the barong as a sign of honor and respect. Rangda holds a white cloth her hand, a powerful weapon symbolic of her magical strength enemies to render them powerless.

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The Kusamba area of Klungkung in southeast Bali is a dry and desolate coast. The hot sun burns down mercilessly on the bleak beach pounded by rough waves. A sway-backed sow with her piglets wander about on the deserted black sands, probably in search of food. Balinese fishermen use traditional jukung (double outrigger canoes) with crocodile-like heads, for it is believed that they can locate fish and other creatures at sea. The frightening face also scares away harmful marine forces; its eyes guide the canoe at night or in bad weather and help to ovoid dangerous coral reefs.