Magic in the Waves
Bali.19.2.2026.The Magic of Waves Through the Eyes of a Piping Man
From a Beach Boy to a Surfing Photographer
Capturing Bali's Beaches Through Photography
In Bali, waves are more than just nature's play. For many, they are a living space, a place where character is formed, and identity is born. It was from this beach culture that Bagus Made Irawan emerged, better known as "Piping."
Initially, he was just a beach boy who enjoyed surfing as a fun activity. Interacting with foreign tourists led him to become a surf photographer. He then made an important mark on Bali's surfing history through the print media "Surf Time" in 1999 and later "Magic Wave," which he founded.
When these surf media outlets were founded, information about surfing was limited; there was no Instagram, no digital channels that could capture surfers' action in seconds. Surfing was a world lived on the beach—and its stories often disappeared with the crashing waves.
Magic Wave emerged as a tabloid that featured local surfers as the main characters. Its content is diverse: from coverage of surfing competitions, profiles of Balinese surfers, reviews of wave spots, surfboard trends, to the beach culture that is the soul of the surfing world itself.
Photographs of waves, coastal lifestyle, and stories of surfers' travels are essential material that make this tabloid not just an information medium, but a cultural archive.
Through Magic Wave, Piping captures these values. He gives voice to small stories rarely seen in mainstream media: stories of local surfers who grew up on humble shores, journeys to find waves in remote corners of Bali, and the competitive scene that is the dream of many young people on the island.
Piping's work, previously featured in "Magic Wave," can now be seen in an exhibition held at Warung Kubukopi from February 18-28. There are 15 of his photographs, plus one by Wayan Grandong, his personal assistant whom he trained to take photographs and who is now a professional photographer.
Exhibition curator Komang Erviani stated that Piping's work was selected from hundreds of photographs submitted to her, most of which were taken between 2002 and 2007. "I chose them based on the first impression I had when I saw the photos," she said.
Piping's photographs, she said, represent the beauty of the waves and the surfers' passion for enjoying them. There is also a photo series showing how surfing inspired various other activities, such as kite surfing, surfboarding, and the paddle of peace at the Kuta Carnival event held to commemorate the Bali bombings.
But more than that, Erviani said, Piping's photographs also show the changing landscape of Bali. For example, surfing at Pererenan Beach is no longer as good as in Piping's photos due to a beach rescue project.
Environmental activist Made Iwan Dewantama stated that Piping's photographs serve as a reminder of the need to protect Bali's beaches. "Bali could be the center of surfing because there are waves all year round," he said. This is in contrast to other islands in Indonesia, where wave conditions are highly dependent on the seasons.
He hopes this exhibition will inspire more people to care more about beach conditions and surfing, so that more locals can get involved and benefit. He believes the potential for surfing tourism in Bali and Indonesia remains enormous.#storytelling bali-inspirasi