Mexican artist Polin explores eastern philosophy<\/p>\n
Mehru Jaffer, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
For Marisa Polin, moving from Mexico to the Netherlands was
\ninteresting enough. But two years ago, when she first visited
\nIndonesia, the Mexican painter was transported, quite literally,
\ninto another world.<\/p>\n
"There is a large Indonesian community in my neighborhood.
\nIndonesian food is almost the national cuisine of Holland. So I
\npresumed I knew a little about Indonesia, but nothing prepared me
\nfor what I experienced once I actually got here," Marisa said, as
\nshe prepared to open her first exhibition in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
"I instantly fell in love with all the smiling faces around
\nme," says Marisa, who feels that back home if you smile it is
\noften suspected that you want something.<\/p>\n
She does appreciate the hardworking, practical ways of the
\nwestern world, but after being with people here and visiting
\ntemples and mosques she feels that there is much more to life
\nthan efficiency and material success alone.<\/p>\n
What that is, she hopes, will be revealed when she follows in
\nthe footsteps of Miguel Covarrubias to Bali. Covarrubias was a
\nMexican painter and anthropologist who lived in Bali for three
\nyears in the 1930s and has left his impressions and sketches in a
\nfascinating book called Island of Bali.<\/p>\n
Marisa is now in the middle of reading that book and is also
\nlooking forward to finding out for herself what the magic of Bali
\nis all about.<\/p>\n
It was two years ago that Marisa came on a seven-day flying
\nvisit to Jakarta, Bandung and Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
"It was not a planned trip. I had read nothing before coming.
\nI just followed my husband who came here for work," Marisa
\nsmiles.<\/p>\n
She recalls that even during that short stay she could sense
\nthe thrill of being in the midst of so much diversity, as
\ncompared to most western societies, which are very orderly and
\nuniform.<\/p>\n
She is unable to get over the fact that two magnificent
\nmonuments pay homage to two different religions at Borobudur and
\nat Prambanan temple complex. The first one is a Buddhist temple
\nand the other devoted to the Hindu deities, Brahma, Shiva and
\nVishnu. Both have stood beside each other almost on the same
\npremises for centuries. She finds this entire reality quite
\namazing and very inspiring.<\/p>\n
Marisa likes to think that this is due to the extremely
\ntolerant temperament of people here. She is amazed at the number
\nof ethnic groups living in this country and practicing their own
\nlanguages and cultures. When societies become too homogenized
\nthey rob themselves of the spice of life, she feels, adding that
\nmonotony is uninspiring.<\/p>\n
As a Mexican, she regrets that Spanish conquerors had to
\ndestroy an entire civilization of native Indians before they
\ncould make South America their new home. She prefers to build
\nupon the past, instead of trying to wipe away memories, which she
\nbelieves is not possible anyway.<\/p>\n
While it is possible to physically destroy people and places,
\nsomething more intangible, like memories and influences, continue
\nto live with us and haunt us.<\/p>\n
She tingled with so many sensations after her Indonesian visit
\nthat she titled her series of paintings Senses. For two years,
\nshe has painted nothing but senses in all its various nuance and
\nmeanings.<\/p>\n
Now she is so satiated from exploring the word that the series
\nwill finally be laid to rest with The Last Sense, the title of
\nthe exhibition she has brought with her to Jakarta, comprising 54
\nworks of acrylic on paper.<\/p>\n
The extreme excitement and exhaustion of the last two years
\nhas perhaps inspired her to give the traditionally vertical
\nfigures a break and to work with horizontal lines.<\/p>\n
In her work, some faces are in a deep, almost Buddha-like
\nrepose. Asked if she was trying to capture the different moods of
\nthe Buddha from Borobudur temple, Marisa said she does not recall
\nmaking a conscious attempt to do so.<\/p>\n
She gets the feeling that people here are still in touch with
\nnature and the earth. Even before she came here her work was full
\nof color and the desire to figure out the relationship between
\nheaven and earth, which was probably inspired by the fertility
\nfolk tales of the native Indian community of Mexico.<\/p>\n
She is interested in knowing what her roots are and who her
\nancestors were, perhaps because she is continuously on the move.<\/p>\n
Born and brought up in Mexico she is married to a Dutchman and
\nthey live in The Hague. She now plans to spend a few weeks in
\nBali.<\/p>\n
During her talk with the Post, Marisa spoke to her five-year-
\nold son Gabriel in three different languages (Spanish, Dutch and
\nEnglish) answering all his queries patiently but also requesting
\nhim not to interrupt her.<\/p>\n
Wherever she is, she tries to make herself at home. She feels
\nthe best way to continue being close to the place where you grew
\nup is to be far away from it.<\/p>\n
The eastern way of life has also taught her the virtue of
\npatience and that the "time is money" motto does not always work.
\nWhile here, she feels that it is OK to wait. She has observed how
\neach task seems to have its own momentum.<\/p>\n
Above all, that death is not the end of life. Thinking
\nphilosophically helped her to overcome the death of her father
\nand the birth of Gabriel made her accept that death and birth are
\nall part of life.<\/p>\n
The physical and psychological effect of migration is another
\ntopic that she likes to play with. Her conclusion is that each
\none of us is a traveler and in a permanent state of nostalgia.
\nThose like her, move from one place to another but others travel
\nin time.<\/p>\n
Marisa has a very graphic way of putting this thought on paper
\nby superimposing drawings one upon the other sometimes creating a
\nsense of depth and at other times creating a very flat effect,
\njust like the tug and pull of time on life.<\/p>\n
Colors are what stand out in her work and after her visit to
\nCentral Java, there are glimpses now of typical dyes used in the
\nbatik of Yogyakarta. Her painting, Me, is also enlarged to
\ninclude many more dimensions and a variety of moods. It is a
\nmatter of great curiosity now to find out what Marisa will put on
\npaper after her month long sojourn in Bali?<\/p>\n
The Last Sense will be open to the public at La Casa de Mexico,
\nJl. Panglima Polim III No. 1-3, Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta
\nuntil May 12 daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mexican-artist-polin-explores-eastern-philosophy-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}