Exhibit comes full circle through elements of life<\/p>\n
Chisato Hara, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Installation art may confound potential exhibition visitors as to
\nhow to approach the seemingly esoteric art form, which typically
\ncombines a variety of techniques and materials, including
\neveryday objects, into a three-dimensional, spatial work.<\/p>\n
Grace Siregar, whose Weather, Tragedy, Life opened on Friday
\nat Bentara Budaya in South Jakarta, and will run until Dec. 12,
\nresponded to this ever-present dilemma of appreciation:
\n\"Installation art is a powerful way of encouraging people to look
\nat the objects and materials around them in their daily lives
\nwith fresh eyes. Artists often use 'art' materials that create a
\ndiversion from their daily reality. Installation art can
\ncounteract this tendency.\"<\/p>\n
For those unfamiliar with installations, the catalog lists
\nindividual pieces along with a quotation from renowned figures to
\nprovide a framework of reference.<\/p>\n
No darling of the local arts community, which tends toward the
\nmore classical fine arts forms of painting, sculpture and
\nillustration, her works are often bold, frank and to some,
\ngarish, expressions of the world around her, an approach she
\nattributes to her Batak heritage.<\/p>\n
Beginning her foray into art at the age of six on Bangka
\nIsland, South Sumatra, Grace's schoolteacher father placed her
\nunder the \"apprenticeship\" of a traveling painter and encouraged
\nthe pursuit of her creative talents across the island.<\/p>\n
Later, after graduating from Sriwijaya University with an
\ninternational law degree, she studied under the late Jan van
\nStolk as his sole student in Oosterbeck, the Netherlands. His
\nmentorship pushed her artistic development into a departure from
\ntraditional material and toward exploring alternative media such
\nas metal, plastic, toiletries and kitchen appliances. Most
\nrecently, she has begun to experiment with digital media and
\norganic material and, in this exhibition, meteorological
\nphenomena.<\/p>\n
Perhaps it is this early introduction to travel, combined with
\nher strong ethnocultural identity, that has provided Grace with a
\ndrive to seek artistic expressions of universal issues within a
\ncommunal context. Weather, Tragedy, Life draws mainly upon a one-
\nyear residency in Ternate, North Sulawesi, where she worked in a
\nrehabilitation program organized by World Vision Indonesia for
\npost-conflict trauma survivors and trauma support workers,
\nfocusing on art as an outlet for their experiences.<\/p>\n
Appearing in traditional Batak dress, the opening day piece
\nfeatured a 2m-by-3m stack of 192 ice blocks in the gallery
\ncourtyard, tracing the transformation of water through the life
\ncycle of ice, from solid, liquid to gas. Similarly, Grace weaves
\nthe title themes through the individual exhibition pieces into a
\nstudy on the cyclic nature of life -- and death -- a Batak
\nphilosophy.<\/p>\n
\"You could say that Batak see death as a celebration of coming
\nfull circle,\" she said.<\/p>\n
At times satirical and humorous, the pieces capture prevailing
\nsentiments to provide a commentary on an event or a social issue
\nthrough a juxtaposition of materials, inviting the response -- or
\nreaction -- of the viewer in determining their own perspective.
\nHer style is eclectic and vibrant, in which artistic elements
\nfrom Dutch Impressionism to American pop art can be found.<\/p>\n
One such piece is Munir, Simply, a tribute to the late human
\nrights activist that plays on Andy Warhol's famous silkscreen of
\ncelebrities, and which attempts to redefine the notion of an
\nicon. Conceived before police began investigating the possibility
\nof foul play in Munir's death aboard a Netherlands-bound flight,
\nGrace believes recent developments have made the work
\nthematically more relevant.<\/p>\n
As it is often said, all art is social commentary and no art
\nis created in isolation of the world; and Grace's work brings the
\ncontemporary world and its many issues to life within the
\nconfined space of the Bentara Budaya.<\/p>\n
-----------------------------------
\nWeather, Tragedy, Life
\nBentara Budaya
\nJl. Palmerah Selatan 17,
\nCentral Jakarta
\nTel. 021-548-3008\/549-0666, ex. 7910<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/exhibit-comes-full-circle-through-elements-of-life-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}