No Full Moon above Aceh

Ronald Manullang's No Full Moon Above Aceh (Lot 574) is an outstanding early work of the artist demonstrative of his abilities in hyper-realist painting. A finalist in the 2007 Sovereign Asian Art Prize, the painting depicts an unknown mysterious couple from Aceh. The background is a cold and dark landscape, with the moon, in various phases, but never full, high above them. Full of symbolic elements, the couple is performing a ritual to obtain freedom for a country that is still occupied - a reference to the separatist movement in Aceh which last nearly three decades. The impending light of the full moon is the artist's symbol of hope to erase the darkness of the land over Aceh.