Eros, Will To Live by Kei Kusuma

Working with Sin City Gallery for this past few years has been a very interesting experience. Sin City Gallery has been working with artist from all around the world through their annual exhibitions and projects. One of the most recognized project is the annual international juried art exhibition, 12 Inches of Sin, which has been successfully done until the seventh series by now. My artwork was selected as the 12 Inches of Sin “Best in Show” for the exhibition’s fifth year and judged by a panel of international expert curators. It’s truly an unforgettable experience to be selected among hundreds of artist from all over the world.

As for the theme, eroticism is always been an integral aspect of human life, without we realizing almost every thought and action we done are based on our interest or disinterest towards it. Some people might accept it as a controllably mild factors, considering it tameable aspect. As an artist, It is almost impossible for me to dissect what can be considered erotic and not. The constant propulsion of desire are a definite source for an artist to assist their pattern or concept when creating artworks. Many people has mistaken erotica with pornography, while we could not deny that every form of romantic art contains a glimpse of eroticism, it is clearly different from pornography. Almost every artworks I have created this far contains a glimpse of sensuality, but to be categorized as porn or erotic would be degrading statement for me.

In the end, 12 Inches of sin has raised the parameter bar, not just as local exhibition held in Las Vegas but also as multinational platform to exhibits and promote the work of artist from all around the world. I would definitely recommend it for every artist to participate, both amateur or established artist, its always good to get an objective opinion about your work from professional point of view. To help you understand the value of your own work amidst the art industry itself.

– Kei Kusuma