Heri Dono has been a leading figure in Indonesian art since the early 1980s. As part of a generation of artists creating politically critical work before the fall of President Suharto’s dictatorial rule in 1998, he drew on Indonesian cultural traditions – such as the figurative style of wayang-kulit (leather puppetry) – to make art that operated as a form of political resistance. Created in 1992, Makan pelor (Eating bullets) depicts monstrous creatures that represent the forces involved in modern power struggles. The work references both local and global contexts, where those struggling for basic needs are often caught in violent conflicts.