balinews

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Feb 14, 2010
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The world-renowned tropical garden designer Made Wijaya - one of Bali's most flamboyant, controversial, and larger-than-life characters - has died suddenly in Sydney, leaving the island he adopted in mourning.

Only his closest friends had known he was sick.

Wijaya, who was adored and loathed in equal measure, is best known for designing David Bowie's garden at his Balinese-inspired home on the private Caribbean island of Mustique, but he was so much more than that.

"Made Wijaya set the bar for how deeply a foreigner could understand and love Bali - so much so that the Balinese sometimes looked to him to better understand themselves," says filmmaker and long-term Bali resident Daniel Ziv.

"(He) was an inseparable part of the island's cultural ecosystem (and) will be deeply missed."

Balinese artist Nyoman Gunarsa, who first sponsored Wijaya to live in Bali, said he was a true friend and artist. "I really loved him," he said. "May his spirit be accepted to be by God's side."

Death in Sydney of renowned garden designer keenly felt in his adopted Bali