Para Sekutu yang Tidak Bisa Berkata Tidak
Temporary Exhibition
Dozens of times to revisit the National Gallery of
Indonesia, Saturday date at the Gallery is always fun for me! This visit did
not happen spontaneously, Friday morning I registered online for a visit on
Saturday afternoon (all previous schedules were fully booked). The Public
Relations of the National Gallery of Indonesia is very active in several social
media and for the health protocols no doubt about it! During the pandemic,
being able to visit temporary exhibitions in this gallery always feels safe and
comfortable as usual.
Para Sekutu yang Tidak Bisa
Berkata Tidak – The Allies Who Can't Say No. Honestly, I was very curious when I first read the title of
this temporary exhibition, how about you? Exhibitions held by the National
Gallery of Indonesia never disappoint me!
S. Teddy D. (b.
1971, Blora; d. 2016, Semarang)
The Choir That
Can't Say No, 1997 (reproduced in 2021)
The title of this
exhibition, The Allies Who Can't Say No, is taken from S. Teddy's installation,
The Choir That Can't Say No, which was created in 1997 and hangs on the wall
like a painting. Rather than an artist, S. Teddy claims to be a painter,
although he also makes sculptures, videos, and installations. This artwork
consists of several wooden blocks arranged like steps. On top of each
piece of wood, there are resin rooster heads that are lined up like a chorus
and they crow. The heads of the chickens are yellow, like the color of
the political party that has supported Suharto for more than three
decades. Right above them: a black-and-white portrait of the artist
hanging on the wall, as if he were the conductor of the chorus. This work
describes the dominant attitude in political culture, namely the inability to
say no.
S. Teddy D.
S. Teddy D. applies
the art of drawing as widely as possible. In his various mediums,
including three-dimensional works and installations, he consistently works with
the logic of images, in the sense that what the eye sees is then recorded by
the brain as various visual impressions. Sounds light and simple, its
credo: painting is a simplified or complicated picture. The works of a
graduate of the ISI Yogyakarta Painting Department are exhibited in a number of
national galleries and have stopped in Japan, Australia, Netherlands, and
Singapore.
Wong Hoy Cheong (b.
1960. George Town)
RE:looking (Looking
Back), 2002–2003
In the video
installation Re:Looking (2002), Wong blurs the boundaries of fact and fiction
by presenting a documentary program on the influence of the Kingdom of Malaysia
on post-colonial Austria. Aired on a fictitious TV channel called
Malaysian Broadcasting Corporation, this video parodies documentaries from
television networks as a form of purported authoritative information. The
show started off as a serious program, but later resulted in discomfort for
both parties who were divided. Fictitious events, memories, and history
give rise to pressing contemporary problems, such as migration, racism, power
relations, and monarchy. This work exploits the problem of information
dissemination in the era of cybernetics—a realm that is fictitious, has no
clear source, and is always questionable.
Wong Hoy Cheong
Wong Hoy Cheong
works with a wealth of academic provisions. He started by studying
literature at Brandeis University, followed by a master's degree in education
at Harvard University and painting at the University of Massachusetts.
His artworks across various mediums. He often combines painting,
photography, video, installation and performance. As an ethnically rich
Kuala Lumpur resident, he often brings up issues of race, colonialism, and
history and marginalized communities in his artistic practice.
I Ketut Soki (b.
Bali 1946)
The Legend of
Jayaprana, 1965
Jayaprana painting
by I Ketut Soki adapts a popular romance from Balinese folklore.
Specifically, the moment shown is when Layon Sari falls into the arms of King
Kalianget, while Jayaprana is sent to the battlefield and ends up being killed
by the King's envoy. The figure of Jayaprana is not visible in the
painting, while in the sky, Dewa Batara Kama Jaya and Dewi Ratih witness the
fate of Layon Sari. Known as a symbol of conjugal harmony, this
god-goddess pair also has its own tragic story, where the wife ends her life to
catch up with her husband.
Soki characterizes
the diversity of characters on his canvases through skin color. The
figures of Layon Sari, the pair of gods and goddesses, as well as a number of
figures in the crowd are depicted with ivory white skin. Meanwhile, there
is a purple female figure among the tan-skinned figures. Different from
Soki's other paintings which depict the daily life of Balinese residents and
are dominated by tan-skinned figures, here he is bringing a legend to
life. He took inspiration from the Hindu painting tradition which used to
give unique colors to special figures. The color of the skin is a
representation of values, morals, and holiness.
I Ketut Soki
I Ketut Soki was
one of the first students to study with Arie Smit, a Dutch painter who in the
1960s worked with children around Panestanan, Ubud. Known as Young Artists,
Arie Smit's group has become known over time for their painting style, which is
close to classical Balinese painting. Like other members of Young
Artists, Soki's paintings are full of bright colors, dense with decorative
elements, and are familiar with the daily depiction of Balinese.
Marintan Sirait (b.
Braunschweig, Germany 1960)
Building a House,
2022
Building a House
shows the appreciation of Marintan's body in relation to the surrounding
environment in which the body is located. The stage is an installation of
a cone-shaped earthen mound arranged in such a way with sand, ash, light, and
gestures. On several occasions, Marintan has also enriched his
installations with newspapers, videos, music, spices and plants. He
usually starts the show by drawing a circle of sand around each cone with his
fingertips. Then, he covered his body with sand and drew lines of dark
earth, as if connecting the cones that lined up or changing them to a whole new
shape.
From 1994 to 2017,
Marintan has performed this work in various types of events in various
countries. In each of his performances, he always updates the motion and
form he presents, adapting to the characteristics of the place where his work
is shown. Marintan often invites the audience to participate in shaping
his work. Like a body in continuous process, this work was never aspired
to be permanent, monumental, or finished.
Marintan Sirait
Marintan Sirait works
a lot with the body. In her track record that spans from drawings,
paintings, to installations, consistent body movement is the main
element. For this graduate of the Ceramics Department of ITB, the body is
a tool as well as a channel for energy to open primordial awareness. In
1988, she co-founded Sumber Waras, a group of experimental artists.
Together with Andar Manik, her husband, she founded Jendela Ide, a special
cultural institution for children and youth, in 1995.
Agus Suwage (b.
1959. Kutoarjo)
Ode to the Unknown
Painter, 1995
This installation
is one of the artworks that caught my attention. The presence of flower
arrangements inside the wire with shape of a human body might make us wondering
what or who inspired the artist. Precisely at the back of the installation as
well as the background, there are many human face masks neatly displayed and
under each of face masks there are occupation info and identity number, could
you find your ID number?
Agus Suwage
Agus Suwage brings
with topics around ideology, socio-politics, religion, and lifestyle, in a tone
that we usually hear in everyday life. This Graphic Design graduate from
ITB often starts his work from a photographic image, either one he takes
himself or one he finds from anywhere. All the images are then processed
by means of drawing, painting, or digital engineering. Agus then inserts
cynicism, irony, and parodies that provoke us to dismantle various signs and
stigmas that are already accepted in our daily lives.
After visiting this temporary exhibition I realized more and
more how vast and beautiful the artworld is. This exhibition will still take
place offline until 27 February 2022, there are still many collections for the
visitor to enjoy, so what are you waiting for to register your visit
immediately?
For
further information :
National
Gallery of Indonesia
Jl. Medan Merdeka
Timur No. 14, Jakarta 10110
+6221-381-3021
Social
Media :
Website : www.galeri-nasional.or.id
Email : galeri.nasional@kemdikbud.go.id
Twitter :
@galerinasional_
Facebook : Galeri
Nasional Indonesia
Instagram :
galerinasional
YouTube Channel :
Galeri Nasional Indonesia
Reference :
Personal impression
and experience
https://www.goethe.de/prj/ceh/id/hib/jak/psy/keb/ted.html
https://www.goethe.de/prj/ceh/id/hib/jak/psy/cht/won.html
https://www.goethe.de/prj/ceh/id/hib/jak/psy/knd/ket.html
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