The Indonesia National Pavilion
55th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia
SAKTI
Albert Yonathan Setyawan, Eko Nugroho, Entang Wiharso, Rahayu Supanggah, Sri Astari, Titarubi
Commissioner: Soedarmadji JH Damais.
Commissioner Aggiunto: Achille Bonito Oliva
Curators: Carla Bianpoen, Rifky Effendy
Tel: +62 21 717 93706
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Skype: bumipurnati
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Plaza Bisnis Kemang #107
Jl Kemang Raya No 2
Jakarta Selatan. 12730
INDONESIA
The Indonesia National Pavilion is located in the Arsenale.
The artists
Albert Yonathan (b. 1983) received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Ceramic Studio at the Faculty of Art and Design at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in 2007, and went on to complete his Masters degree in the Visual Arts program at ITB in 2012. A multi-level artist, he is making a unique and major introduction to ceramics as a high conceptual and performative art. Exploring the spiritual dynamics between humans and the natural world using hundreds of ceramics molded manually that are then arranged in modules of patterned configurations. Following geometric formations imbued with an ancient symbolic meaning, they bring a sense of the meditative and the spiritual. Recurrent themes are birds and humans arranged repetitively, while labyrinths appear in circular or rectangular shapes. In October 2012, Albert left for Japan, where he is now pursuing a further studies in Ceramic Art at Seika University, Kyoto.
Sri Astari (b. 1953) studied painting at the University of Minnesota in the United States and at the Royal College of Art, London, but went on to expand her painterly skills to sculptural representations and installation art. Astari is concerned with the re-reading of Javanese traditions, its symbolism and values. Inspired by social and political issues as well as consumerism and life style she continues to challenge stereotypes and cultural construction, albeit with a tinge of humor, paying special attention to the position of a woman within her cultural traditions. She does so with the spirit of today. As a result, her works give new meaning to symbolism in the Javanese tradition. Recurrent themes have been the kebaya and its accessories, which have been regarded as both repressive and protective, as well as branded bags as a metaphor for modern fetishism. But lately she has given the kebaya new meaning in her work, calling it ‘armor for the soul.’ Meanwhile recent works show a more philosophical tendency, highlighting the need to reconcile the self with nature and the universe.
Eko Nugroho (b.1977) graduated from the Painting Department at the Indonesian Art Institute in Yogyakarta. His works are grounded in both local traditions and global popular culture. Plant, animal and human forms come together with monsters, skulls, and universal symbols in one world where the imaginary and the real are fused into comics and hybrid images to narrate the happenings of our time. Ignoring any boundaries between high and low art, Eko includes craft, such as embroidery and batik. He also reinterprets the old wayang shadow plays, taking actual issues as a theme. Eko extends his art to nurture and reinterpret these branches of culture for the benefit of his art as well as to sustain the livelihood of 24 artists who make the sculptures, embroidery, batik, and puppet theaters.
Entang Wiharso (b.1967) majored in painting and obtained his bachelor’s degree in art at the Indonesian Art Institute in Yogyakarta. A painter and a sculptor, his works are like parts of the greater life-narrative and have been compared to the “Divine Comedy” of the great Italian poet, Dante Alighieri. As he juxtaposes the past with the contemporary, the imaginative and the real, his hyper realistic forms and images also give the impression of near surrealistic imagery. Entang uses bronze, graphite and aluminum mixed with other materials for his objects and grand sculptural installations that are interspersed with large paintings. He is inspired by personal and public memory and experiences, Javanese myths and legends, and the Candi reliefs as well as by popular iconography in which political, social and historical facts and situations are interwoven.
Titarubi (b.1968) graduated from the Ceramic Studio at the Department of Fine Art, Faculty of Art and Design, of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB). Although she trained as a ceramist, she has expanded her skills to include sculpture and installations. Titarubi first attracted public attention with her installation of ceramic children's heads with Arabic inscriptions. Earlier, she had presented an installation dealing with the issue of babies born by in-vitro fertilization. She then went on to challenge stereotypes and cultural constructions, exploring the position of men and women in society, and experimenting with materials for their impact on defining gender characteristics. She is also inspired by social, political and historical connotations and continues to explore the rich cultural and ethnic heritage of the Indonesian archipelago, or “Nusantara” as it is known.
Rahayu Supanggah earned his PhD from Universite de Paris in 1985. He has carried out research on and composed numerous pieces based on the various forms of traditional and contemporary music appearing in Asia, and Indonesia in particular.Supanggah has collaborated with world class artists and theater directors, working alone or as part of a group, at home and internationally, including the international collaboration for Realizing Rama choreographed by Denisa Reyes, and I La Galigo, brought to stage by Robert Wilson. Supanggah holds several prestigious awards, among others, the award of Best Composer at the Asian Film Festival in Hong Kong, the award for World Master on Music and Culture in Seoul, and the Jakarta Academy Award.
Curatorial Board
The independent curatorial board comprises:
Carla Bianpoen
Director, Indonesia
A Jakarta-based art critic, writer and journalist for more than 20 years, Carla is a regular contributor on contemporary art for the Jakarta Post and the Jakarta Post Weekender, Asian Art News, Asia Views, Visual Arts magazine, and several Indonesian language media. From 2007 to 2011, she was the senior editor for the international C-Arts magazine. Major works include contributions to n.Paradoxa: International Feminist Art Journal (KT Press, London, 2011), ‘The Cultural Politics of Soekarno: Art and the Nation’ in the book “Beyond The Dutch” (Centraal Museum, Utrecht, The Netherlands, 2008), and “Indonesian Women: The Journey Continues” (ANU, 2000), which she co-authored and edited together with Professor Mayling Oey-Gardiner. Carla was the driving force behind the seminal work, “Indonesian Women Artists: The Curtain Opens” (2007), which she co-authored with Farah Wardani and Wulan Dirgantoro. Her latest book is due for publication in early 2013 and features selected Indonesian emerging artists. Carla is a member of the jury for the third Bandung Contemporary Art Awards, and was a previous jury member for the first and second Awards (2010/11 and 2011/12). She is a recipient of the Visual Arts Awards (2011).
Rifky Effendy
Curator, Indonesia
Rifky’s recent curatorial projects include “FLOW: Contemporary Art from Indonesia,” Michael Janssen Gallery, Berlin (2012); “Fixer,” North Art Space, Jakarta, Indonesia (2010); “In Between,” The First Jakarta Contemporary Ceramics Biennale, North Art Space, Jakarta (2009); “South East B(L)ooming,” Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy (2008); “KOI and TRINACRIA” by Filippo Sciascia and Robert Coda Zabetta, National Gallery of Indonesia, Jakarta (2008); and “Pilgrim Project” by Dadang Christanto, Gaya Fusion Artspace, Bali (2006). In late 2001 he established and directed the 1st Bandung Biennale, and in 2004 became a fellow of the New York-based Asia Cultural Council (ACC). In 2009, he co-founded the Jakarta Contemporary Ceramics Biennale (2009). Along with fellow curators and artists, he established the Bandung-based artspace Platform3 in 2009, while in 2010 he formed Inkubatorasia, a Jakarta-based space dedicated to promoting emerging contemporary artists. He has edited and contributed to several publications including Tempo, Visual Arts, and Art Asia Pacific magazines as well as Indonesia’s newspaper of record, Kompas.
The Curatorial Theme
“Sakti” as the curatorial theme for the Indonesia Pavilion at the 55th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia is based on its symbolic nature and its aptness in representing the spirit that ties together the Indonesian nation.
Originally Sakti derives from the Sanskrit “shak,” (to be able) meaning the sacred force of empowerment or primordial cosmic energy representing the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe in Hinduism. While of Hindu origin, Sakti was soon integrated into the Indonesian local cosmology and language, and unfailingly indicates magic, divine or supernatural power, the sacred.
The traditional divine embodiment of creative power: gentle yet invincible, an agent of change and regeneration, and of cosmic justice, Sakti is also multi-faceted while at the same time it is a singular essence of truth. As energy it can be conceived as a creative principle, something like 'the other' power.
In the context of contemporary art, the concept of Sakti has been the basis for our curatorial reading of art praxis and has been used as a directive for the aesthetic exploration of the individual artist, who will refer to historical and social aspects as well as the value of local cultural pluralism within the global discourse.
With its overarching concept of Sakti, the Indonesia Pavilion proposes an alternative artistic practice and a new cultural presence in the global art world.
indonesian contemporary art
The concept of pluralism or “kebhinekaan” in the development of Indonesian art is grounded in the diversity of cultural heritage available and is a contributing factor as to why modern art in Indonesia retains some sort of “accent or dialect” of its own and why it differs from modern Western art.
The rejection of singularity in Indonesian modern art was initially exerted by the artist pioneer S. Sudjojono, (1913-1985). By the 1940s, he was already arguing against the “mooi indie” (beautiful Indies) trend in painting, which he considered to be a romantic streak in European painting of the colonial era, and one that failed to recognize the actual conditions of the people.
Yet such sentiments remained prevalent in the decades that followed until, in the mid-1970s, the Gerakan Seni Rupa (Fine Arts Movement) emerged and bluntly rejected the tendency to formalism and a narrow view of art practice in art education institutions and government institutions from the New Order period of president Soeharto. Although fairly short-lived (1975-1980), the movement is considered the beginning of contemporary art in Indonesia and had a far-reaching impact. The failure of galleries to accommodate the new stream of alternative art, for example, led to alternative art spaces, such as Cemeti gallery (now Cemeti Art House) in 1980, which was set up by the artist couple Ninditiyo Adipurnomo and Mella Jaarsma.
Meanwhile, a new generation of artists had evolved. In the absence of government supported art facilities, they started to organize themselves. In the early 2000s, ruangrupa—an artists initiative—was founded in Jakarta. Focusing on video and new media development, they initiated the first OK Video festival, which is now held on a regular basis. Similarly, young photographers in Yogyakarta formed Ruang Mes 56 in 2002, which focuses on developing artistic expression using photography and urban culture. Earlier, in 1999, the House of Natural Fiber (HONF), a media art laboratory was established. HONF is engaged in cross-discipline experiments, such as the development of alternative energy using organic waste from farms.
The strength of the local market was an important spur for individual collectors to open a private museum, but idealistic motivation also played a role in establishing an art space or foundation. Some established private museums, mainly to store their collections, with incidental access for the public, while others have dedicated programs and a curator, as well as hold periodic exhibitions. These include in the Yuz museum in Jakarta, Sunaryo Sampoerna Museum in Surabaya, Art1 Mon Décor Museum/gallery, the Art and Sciene Estate Lawangwangi/ ArtSociates (now Lawangwangi Creative Space) in Bandung, the Langgeng Art Foundation (LAF) in Yogyakarta, and the OHD museum in Magelang, which has the most comprehensive collection of modern Indonesian art, and is open to the general public. There is also the artist-founded-and-funded Selasar Sunaryo in Bandung, where a dedicated curator is in charge of bringing young emerging artists to the fore.
For the most part, today’s contemporary art tends to depend on market forces for legitimation, which some fear may erode the intrinsic value of an artwork. But on the other hand, many young artists are moving towards conceptual painting, objects, and installations, photography and new media—with themes focusing on issues of identity, environment, religiousness, and social and cultural issues in the face of globalization and the complexity of daily life.
Collectors have always played a role in the Indonesian art world, and they still are. But it is worth noting that in the past five years young, well-educated and serious collectors have emerged, whose idealistic motivation is particularly focused on contemporary and new media art and artists.
The last three years have witnessed important large-scale exhibitions in several countries, and the key exhibitions acknowledge the support of major collectors.This is true for the exhibition “Contemporaneity/Contemporary Art in Indonesia” presented at MOCA Shanghai, China in 2010, which was supported by the Jakarta-based collector Haryanto; a special Indonesian section at ART PARIS + GUESTS (2010), which was hosted by collector Deddy Kusuma); and “Beyond the East at MACRO,” (2011), which was presented in Rome with the support of collector Rina Ciputra. Meanwhile other exhibitions reflected corporate sponsorship, such as the “Trans-Figurations – Indonesian Mythologies” at the Espace Culturel Louis Vuitton, Paris and the “Indonesian Eye” exhibition at Saatchi Gallery, London, in 2011.
Indonesian galleries have also been enthusiastic in their participation at international art fairs, as well as holding exhibitions in collaboration with galleries in cities that include Singapore, Hong Kong, Paris, Dubai, Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing, New York, Berlin, and Melbourne.
The escalating number of exhibitions by Indonesian contemporary artists denotes a heightened vibrancy in the contemporary arts scene in Indonesia.
