Title: how to look at life
Artist: Heno Airlangga
Size: Triptych paintings - 3 Panels, each @150cm x 78cm ( 59" x 31" )
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Year: 2019
Price: USD 25000
“Sawang Sinawang” is a Javanese expression that sounds simple, yet carries a profound reflection on the way human beings understand life. At its heart, sawang sinawang suggests that the meaning of life is not determined solely by what we possess, but also by how we see, interpret, and perceive life itself. What appears beautiful in another person’s life may not be as perfect as we imagine, while the life we consider difficult or ordinary may actually be the life someone else secretly longs for.
This modern abstract painting translates that philosophy into a large-scale visual composition measuring approximately 150 × 250 cm in total. The artwork consists of three separate panels, each measuring 150 × 78 cm. Although physically divided, the three panels form one cohesive visual and philosophical whole. Their unity is created through the continuity of color, light, atmosphere, and the expressive movement of the brushstrokes flowing from one panel to another. The separation between the panels is therefore not merely a structural choice; it becomes part of the meaning of the work: each human being exists as an individual with a unique life, yet all of us inhabit the same greater space called life.
At first glance, each panel appears to present a different world. One area may feel calmer, another more turbulent, while another seems heavier or more emotionally charged. Yet, when viewed as a whole, the three panels share a common visual language. Shades of blue, white, grey, black, and subtle warm tones create a continuous atmosphere throughout the composition. The different directions and rhythms of the brushstrokes symbolize the uniqueness of every human journey. Some lives appear to move along a straight path, while others take countless turns. Some seem effortless from the outside, while others are marked by struggle and uncertainty.
This is where “Sawang Sinawang” reveals its deeper philosophical meaning.
The three panels can be understood as three individual lives existing side by side. Each possesses its own form, movement, texture, and rhythm. Yet none can truly be described as more perfect than the others. Human beings often see only the visible surface of another person’s life. We see their achievements without knowing the failures behind them. We see their smiles without knowing the tears they may have shed. We see the destination without knowing how difficult the journey was.
In contrast, we tend to look at our own lives from an extremely close distance. We know every weakness, mistake, disappointment, wound, regret, and difficult moment we have experienced. As a result, another person’s life can easily appear more beautiful than our own. We see other people’s lives through their visible surface, while we see our own lives through all of their wounds.
This difference in perspective is one of the reasons people become trapped in comparison.
When comparison begins, a life that once felt sufficient can suddenly feel inadequate. We look at what others have that we do not. Their path seems straighter, while ours appears filled with unnecessary turns. Their struggles may look easier, while our own seem overwhelmingly difficult. From this comparison, feelings of envy, disappointment, insecurity, and dissatisfaction can gradually emerge.
Yet comparison has no natural ending. There will always be someone who appears wealthier, more successful, more fortunate, happier, or further ahead than we are.
“Sawang Sinawang” invites us to step away from that endless competition.
Perhaps the life we complain about today is the very life someone else dreams of having. The home that feels ordinary to us may be the home another person desperately wishes for. The family we sometimes take for granted may be the family someone else longs to have. The work that exhausts us may be an opportunity someone else is still searching for. Even the simple life we sometimes regard as insufficient may represent abundance to someone who has never experienced it.
This does not mean that human beings should stop dreaming, pursuing ambitions, or striving for a better life. On the contrary, growth and aspiration are essential parts of being human. But the desire to become better should not come from hatred toward the life we currently have. It should come from gratitude, awareness, and the willingness to grow beyond our present circumstances.
The three panels can also be interpreted as three different directions of human perception: looking upward, looking sideways, and looking inward. When we constantly look upward, we may feel that we never have enough. When we continually look sideways, we become trapped in comparison. But when we dare to look inward, we begin to understand our own journey.
The different brushstroke patterns across the three panels reinforce this idea. No single stroke is exactly the same as another. Some are long, some short, some rough, some delicate, some circular, layered, or seemingly chaotic. Yet all of them contribute to the integrity of the composition.
This is life itself.
Different journeys do not mean that one life is wrong. Difference is part of the beauty and completeness of human existence.
The shared colors and similar light across the three panels further suggest that although people travel along different paths, they remain subject to the same fundamental rhythms of life. No life remains permanently bright, just as no life remains permanently dark. Happiness and sadness alternate. Success can exist alongside failure. Laughter may follow tears. Difficulties can lead to maturity. Even loss can bring a deeper understanding that could never have been discovered otherwise.
In this sense, “Sawang Sinawang” becomes more than a modern abstract painting. It becomes a reflection on human psychology, our tendency to judge life based on what we can see, and the importance of gratitude.
The painting reminds us that what appears before our eyes is never the complete story. What we see is only a fragment of reality; the true story of a life is always much larger than what can be seen from the outside.
Ultimately, the work encourages us to change our perspective. This does not mean giving up our dreams, but learning not to lose gratitude when we see the achievements of others. It does not mean abandoning our ambitions, but refusing to define our worth simply because our journey looks different from someone else’s. It does not mean passively accepting circumstances, but understanding that every person has a different rhythm, timing, struggle, and path toward growth.
The Javanese philosophy of sawang sinawang leads us toward a simple yet powerful realization:
Life does not necessarily become worse because we have less. Sometimes life simply feels worse because we spend too much time looking at what other people have.
When our perspective changes, the meaning of life can change as well.
Perhaps peace does not always come from having a perfect life. Perhaps peace comes when we learn to see life from a wider perspective—to appreciate what we have, accept the journey we are currently walking, learn from difficulties, and continue moving forward without making someone else’s life the measure of our own happiness.
Look toward those who have less in worldly matters, so that we do not overlook the blessings already present in our lives. Look within ourselves, so that we may understand our own journey. And when we look at others, let us look with empathy rather than envy.
Because in the end, every person is creating their own painting. The brushstrokes are different, the paths are different, and the colors are different, yet all of them exist within the same vast canvas called life.
“Sawang Sinawang” — sometimes, what needs to change is not our life, but the way we choose to see it.
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Original paintings by Heno Airlangga are available for collectors, galleries, interior designers, and art investors worldwide.
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