From the microscopic to the monumental, Indonesian artist Mahendra Nazar builds universes that blur the boundaries between biology, identity, and imagination. His creations feel alive, as if every line contains its own pulse. Through projects like MicroB, Boldmen, and ZZ the Clumsy, Nazar explores the layers of human nature, translating emotion and complexity into cellular forms, masks, and playful characters. Whether through watercolor, digital design, or NFTs, his practice is a meditation on growth, imperfection, and the hidden connections that make us whole.

Origins: From Doodles to Digital DNA

“I started doodling back in 3rd grade,” Nazar recalls. “Over the years, it was just something I did for fun.” That quiet pastime slowly became a language of its own. Drawing was how he processed the world around him, the chaos of school life, the rhythm of Jakarta, the small details that others might overlook.

By 2008, that curiosity had evolved into something more deliberate. Nazar began exhibiting in group shows, stepping from private sketchbooks into public spaces, transforming doodles into stories and symbols. Around the same time, he began embracing digital tools as part of his process. “Since 2007, they’ve been part of my daily workflow,” he says. “They’ve shaped how I create and develop my work today.”

For Nazar, this blend of analog and digital was never about replacing one with the other, but about expanding possibility, using pixels the way he once used ink, allowing new textures, new imperfections, and new worlds to emerge.

MicroB: Life Forms of the Inner World

MicroB, the image-making studio Nazar founded in 2013, emerged from a creative turning point. “By late 2012, I was getting tired of drawing human figures,” he says. “I wanted to explore other possibilities.” What began as experimentation quickly became a deeper philosophical pursuit. Nazar started zooming in, both literally and conceptually, exploring life at a microscopic level, where every cell, every line, could represent thought, emotion, or consciousness itself.

Those early “microbiological” compositions evolved into abstract organisms that mirrored the complexity of human experience. “Even though I stopped depicting people directly, MicroB became an analogy for individuals, beings made of layers of body, mind, and soul. It’s a reflection of how we live as human beings.”

Characters in Motion: Boldmen and ZZ the Clumsy

After MicroB, Nazar returned to figuration, this time with characters that carried entire philosophies within their forms. “Boldmen and ZZ the Clumsy were born around then,” he says. “Boldmen appears in many forms, human, god-like, monstrous. But his side-profile face, which eventually turned into a mask, always remains. He represents how we wear different masks wherever we go.”

Boldmen became a kind of alter ego for Nazar, a timeless observer who reflects the complexity of human identity. Sometimes heroic, sometimes absurd, Boldmen is both the creator and the created, a witness to the contradictions of being human. His mask, fixed in profile, became not a disguise but a mirror, inviting viewers to confront their own hidden selves.

ZZ, on the other hand, is lighter, a necessary counterbalance to Boldmen’s gravity. “He’s this bearded boy, a symbol of playfulness inside the adult self,” Nazar explains. “The message behind him is simple, don’t lose your playful side, even when life gets serious.”

Where Boldmen wrestles with identity, ZZ laughs at it. He’s a reminder that wonder, humor, and spontaneity are as essential to survival as introspection itself.

MicroB Inc. and the Beauty of Imperfection

While Nazar’s digital worlds are intricate, his traditional works, watercolor and ballpoint on Canson paper, reveal another side. “Working with these humble materials gives me calm and peace,” he says. “It’s slow, imperfect, and that’s the point. During the MicroB Inc. era, I used these materials because they fit the narrative, imperfection, flaws, fragility.”

He doesn’t see digital and traditional methods as opposites. “Both have their own processes. Digital can be just as therapeutic as drawing by hand.”

Murals, Teams, and the Art of Scale

Nazar’s art has also spilled into the streets. From Levi’s footwear to a 57-mural rollout for Herbalife clubs across Indonesia, he’s learned to translate his intricate style to massive walls.

“Those years taught me about teamwork and technique,” he says. “It’s very different from working alone in a studio. Gallery works are personal, murals are collective. Both are essential. They balance each other.”

TE QUIERO and the Heat of Jakarta

One of Nazar’s most memorable collaborations came in TE QUIERO, From The Heat of Jakarta Sun with fellow artist Rukmunal Hakim, a visual love letter to their city inspired by the music of Khruangbin.

“We interpreted a few of their songs and presented them through an interactive book. What made it fun was how we all put our egos aside. We blended our different working habits into something new.” Jakarta itself plays a quiet but constant role in Nazar’s palette, its rhythm, warmth, and chaos bleeding into his lines.

M/NMADE: Evolving Beyond MicroB

The artist’s next chapter comes with a new name, M/NMADE. “The M/N comes from my initials,” Nazar explains. “Changing the name doesn’t mean changing direction. It’s about becoming more focused and evolving further.”

His ambitions include sofubi toys, product lines, and merchandise that expand his visual universe into the tangible world. “I want to create toys based on my characters,” he says. “That’s my biggest goal right now.”

Closing Thoughts

From microscopic worlds to murals and metaverses, Mahendra Nazar’s art continues to evolve and mutate, like the living forms it portrays. His lines may have started as simple doodles, but today they form a sprawling visual ecosystem, a delicate balance between chaos and harmony, structure and spontaneity. Every mark carries intention, yet invites imperfection.

In Nazar’s universe, playfulness becomes philosophy, and imagination is treated as something sacred. Through ink, pixels, and paint, he reminds us that creativity, much like life itself, is always growing, changing, and finding new ways to connect us to one another.

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— HASH'D (@HASHD_ART) October 20, 2025

Mahendra Nazar: Worlds Within Worlds