Nindityo lets society's hair down<\/p>\n
The CP Open Biennale has 128 participants, among which 80
\npercent are Indonesian and 20 percent foreign. There are great
\nnames, and not so great names, good works and not so good ones.<\/p>\n
But there is only one work that shows art in a surprisingly
\nrefreshing manner.<\/p>\n
A floor at Galeri Nasional is covered with black stones in the
\nshape of konde traditional Javanese hairpieces, in combination
\nwith wooden hairpieces with a surface similar to health or
\nmassage sandals. Here people are invited to take off their shoes
\nand traverse the symbolic konde to enjoy a foot massage.<\/p>\n
Titled The Massage a la The Hairbun Party, it is Nindityo
\nAdipurnomo's continuing effort to break down cultural taboos by
\nliterally walking all over them.<\/p>\n
The konde is the typical hairpiece worn by women as an
\ninseparable part of the formal Indonesian dress code originating
\nin Javanese tradition.<\/p>\n
While most women wearing this hairpiece today will only
\nthink of how to abide by "tradition" and fashion, the konde for
\nNindityo has become a metaphor to visualize burdensome and
\nrepressive strategies in real life.<\/p>\n
Born and raised in Javanese culture and traditions, Nindityo
\nas a boy admired the beauty of the hairpiece worn by his mother
\nand his grandmother. As he grew up, however, he came to see the
\nburden it meant to women -- how they were required to wear it
\neven as they suffered with the heat creeping down to the neck --
\nand the fallacy of so-called beauty and harmony.<\/p>\n
The konde is like a prison, he once said, and while
\ncontinuously exploring it, it became a metaphor of
\nnoncommunication, prejudice and intolerance in Javanese as well
\nas other societies.<\/p>\n
Nindityo started to explore the traditional Javanese hairpiece
\nmore than 10 years ago. Early in his artistic life, he became
\nfascinated with the culture in which he was born and raised into
\nmanhood. Initially he was drawn to dance, studying the Bedoyo, a
\nJavanese dance that is said to symbolize the highest achievement
\nduring samedi (meditation) by closing nine human orifices and
\ndeflating all bad desires.<\/p>\n
"All I wanted was actually to know in depth and understand the
\nground plan of the dance," he said.<\/p>\n
He came to understand that this mythical court dance, usually
\nperformed by nine young female dancers of advanced spiritual
\nattainment, required a high level of introspective ability; in
\nfact it was a major feature of the dance. As he started painting,
\nhe found he could not very well visualize the element of
\n"introspective" and "introvert" required of the dancers.<\/p>\n
One of the Bedoyo dancers told him that the sacred classical
\ndance was actually a symbol of intimate communication between the
\nsole choreographer and the nine dancers. While Nindityo tried to
\nvisualize that in his work titled Lingga-Yoni (1992), he
\nwas not satisfied, as he perceived that as being too formal.<\/p>\n
This was the point when konde began to be a metaphor for his
\ncreative works. In the konde, he found the same element of
\nprivacy that marked the dancers of the Bedoyo.<\/p>\n
Among his various explorations with material, his installation
\nworks made of river stones like Step on Heirloom (2001) and Konde
\nBatu Beyond the Modesty evoke a sense of prehistory amid modern
\ntimes. The title of the first work alone was an open invitation
\nfor audiences to, in a sense, trample on Javanese culture. In
\nJava, touching the head (or hairpiece) of someone you do not know
\nis impolite. The head is regarded as the holiest part of the
\nbody, whereas feet have the lowest status.<\/p>\n
It was no great surprise that people were reluctant to step on
\nthe stones. But Nindityo is adept at creating vehicles for
\ninteraction, and he invented the hairpiece as a tool for massage
\nin an installation where everybody is offered the sensation of
\nthe hairpiece.<\/p>\n
As young and old eagerly take off their shoes to get a foot
\nmassage, Nindityo hopes they also contemplate the symbolic
\nhairpiece. Most probably, however, they are hardly aware they are
\ntreading on symbols of once sacred meanings.<\/p>\n
-- Carla Bianpoen<\/p>\n
---------------------------------------------------------------
\nCP Open Biennale Jakarta
\nGaleri Nasional, Jl. Merdeka Timur (opposite Gambir railway
\nstation)
\nSept. 4 - Oct. 3, 2003
\n-------------------------------------------------------------------<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/nindityo-lets-societys-hair-down-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}