On Going
Past / Future
A SOLO EXHIBITION
Eyes Shut Fantasia
MAY 1 - JUNE 6, 2021
EYES SHUT FANTASIA
Eyes Shut Fantasia
The characters in Addy Debil's works always seem to play with the eye or “mata” in Indonesian, where there are many meanings in this word. The eye or “mata”, which is usually considered a window to a person's soul, can often be seen as the tip of an object such as a knife blade (mata pisau), arrowhead (mata panah), and sword blade (mata pedang). It shows its sharp nature that seems intimidating. But the eyes seen in Addy's work are different. Why is this a street artist and illustrator from Bandung showing so many characters with their eyes closed? Closing their eyes while showing a certain facial expression, a man, a rabbit, a fish, a dinosaur to a cat who shows a similar grinning face in his works.
These characters in my observation show a flat expression. Absurd emotion, nothingness, but smiling happily. It can be said that Addy wanted to convey a message of happiness. But do they truly show a look of happiness? As an artist, Addy feels that he has an obligation to make the audience who sees his work happy, maybe it can be conveyed, and part of his task is represented by the hustle and bustle of his distinctive characters that is closing their eyes. Since the eye is the window of the soul, when we close it, will it be like a closed window, what is in it, or what is felt is no longer visible?
by
Axel Ridzky
A SOLO EXHIBITION
Unexpected Lines
MAY 1 - JUNE 6, 2021
AN INTRODUCTION: HINT LINES FOR SURPRISING
FORMS FROM NONHIERARCHICAL COMPOSITION
If a work of art exists because there is a role of imagination as the result of processing the reality of its creator - the artist -, then Bernandi's work (as Bernandi Desanda is called) is a world of imagination that he produces from the reality that revolves within him. I will start this introductory text with a coherent storytelling style about the visual culture that was started by Bernandi when he was still in junior high school.
by
Gatari Surya Kusuma
A GROUP EXHIBITION
Reciprocities
NOV 30, 2019 - JAN 12, 2020
Interlocking the Memorabilia of Subject :
a Working Notes for the Show of Reciprocities
Meeting the artists who are showing in Reciprocities has encouraged me to re-question the aesthetic nature of art. If aesthetics are often associated with something nice and beautiful, how to categorize the connection built between the darker-themed works and the audience? For me, it is not merely a matter of taste. There are basic things that support such connection.
In general, fine arts and aesthetic studies have developed far beyond what Kantian thinkers have predicted. The modality of art continues to change: from its attachment to the medium (medium-based specific), to become dependent on the discussion (discourse-based specific), and now seems to be largely determined by concrete socio-cultural issues (context-based specific). The focus of the value also changes. Quoting from Bambang Sugiharto (2013) –the focus of value on art has changed from a matter of beauty, to a technical problem, then to a matter of meaning, and then again to the impact of sensation, and finally, to the process of mutual significance between the artist, the work, and the appreciators.
by
Hamada Adzani
A GROUP EXHIBITION
Confluence
SEP 11 - OCT 11, 2020
CONFLUENCE: IN PURSUIT OF GOING BEYOND
THE ROMANTICIZED ENCOUNTER
The search for the meaning of an encounter will very likely be romantic. I used to wonder if it is possible to discuss an encounter by going beyond the mere romanticization thereof while preserving the emotions and beauty within. Will it be possible to perceive an encounter as beautiful if the two entities meeting each other come from different origins? If yes, how do we recognize such an encounter not as a mere celebration? It was the latter that actuated my thought to look beyond the romanticized feelings brought forward by an encounter.
To write for this exhibition, I started with finding the meaning of the word ‘Confluence’, after which this exhibition is named. This is when the thought sparked. In different online references, confluence is a term used to describe the coming together of two streams. Said definition implies that the two streams come from different upstreams, but they head to a single destination. Therefore, they finally meet somewhere.
by
Gatari Surya Kusuma
A SOLO EXHIBITION
Anomaly In Matrimony
MAY 1 - JUNE 6, 2021
ANOMALY IN MARTIMONY:
THE TENSIONS BEHIND THE FANFARE OF THE SACRED PARADE
My first encounter with Ummi Shabrina Damas (Ummi's) works on social media challenged my head. Her paintings are full of human figures in a naive style, appearing to be doing various activities between the house and objects in its space. The challenge I felt was the same as when I tried to find Waldo in a storybook from England called Where's Wally by Martin Handford. I was busy looking for easter eggs in her decorative paintings, but at that time I couldn't find them.
That morning I visited Ummi's studio to see her works in person, but I'm no longer looking for easter eggs. The sensation of that challenge immediately turned into an emerging excitement, it was exactly like watching a parade when we were kids. I remember the sensation of being crowded among the other spectators, but I still rejoiced. I also remember how it felt to be carried by my father to get a closer look at the viewer, but my father's feet had to collide with the legs of the hawkers. That is how it feels like, the heat, the crowd, the noise, but still being spoiled by the millions of colors, patterns, and attractions of figures appearing in the spaces created. There are things that feel odd because they have never been felt, but there is happiness that holds the eyes. Seeing Ummi's works makes me want to be in it to unravel the many events and emotions.
by
Lily Elserisa
A SOLO EXHIBITION
The Wanderlust
FEB 15 - MAR 28, 2021
THE WANDERLUST - THE WANDERER VESSEL :
AN INTERMEDIATE SPACE IN INFINITE SEEKING
An Opener: A Little Faith in an Uncertain Journey
The year 2020 saw many surprising things for mankind, ranging from various natural disasters, political turmoil in various countries, large mass movements in response to various world issues, to the death of legendary figures who were influential in the world. Every year, there are always recurring disasters and new political upheavals. All of these events seem normal and normal like the previous years, it's just that 2020 is not covered with the devastating waves of the global COVID-19 pandemic which affect all aspects of human life.
Discussion about the impact and handling of the COVID-19 pandemic is a topic of concern throughout 2020, but apart from that, there are many new and good things to be done by the community during the pandemic. Both in the virtual world and in the real world, kindness continues to be shared and broadcasted. Apart from all the suffering humanity has experienced as a result of the pandemic, it must be admitted that affection, kindness and solidarity also continue to be seen, read, heard and felt.
by
Lily Elserisa
A GROUP EXHIBITION
Equidistant
FEB 14 - MAR 15, 2020
“…….
What would art mean,
If it is detached from the suffering of the surrounding.
What would thinking mean,
If it is detached from the matter of life."
- W.S Rendra. Sajak Sebatang Lisong (19 August 1977)
In a scene from Yang Muda Yang Bercinta (1977), a movie directed by Sumanjaya and is starred by W.S. Rendra himself, the poem above was read out in front of students of Institut Teknologi Bandung –two days after the celebration commemorating the Independence Day of Indonesia. It was a precarious situation: the political situation was chaotic, the economic situation was deteriorating, and the people were affected by such circumstances. As we all know, W.S. Rendra used Sajak Sebatas Lisong as a mean to encourage fellow artists to voice out the issues which surround them, and also as a reminder that they should not be afraid of the oppression from the regime which they criticize through their works of art.
