Rahmayani recreates unjust treatment against the weak<\/p>\n
By Chandra Johan<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The lights were turned off and silence fell. The
\nvisitors were stunned for a moment. Then a sad and depressing
\nsound arose, accompanied by the rhythmic sound of a tambourine. A
\nscene from a slide projector was shown: a black figure watching a
\nburning building. The smoke from the building billows darkly into
\nthe sky. There is nothing but that black figure and black cloud
\nof smoke.<\/p>\n
Then a poem was read: The helicopter roaring\/ Awaking a
\nsoundless sleep\/ I pullback the curtains\/ I open the window\/
\nBlack smoke emerging into the sky\/ The rotten smell of collusion\/
\nRoasted corpse\/ Stinging\/ Tightening the chest.<\/p>\n
That was the scene presented by Rahmayani, a painter, poet and
\nperformer, one of the women artists represented at the exhibition
\nat the Cemara 6 Gallery in Central Jakarta. The exhibition, In
\nResponse to Violence Against Women, runs from Dec. 2 through Dec.
\n12.<\/p>\n
The opening of the exhibition, with the staging and
\npresentation of poems, was not the usual gallery opening. At
\nfirst, the visitors wandered around the gallery to see the
\ndisplayed works, before being mesmerized by the gripping
\natmosphere. The verses of poetry and the beating of Rani's
\ntambourine worked together to create a very touching atmosphere.
\nThe series of projected scenes shown on the slide projector
\npresented a number of the violent tales presently shaking
\nIndonesia. Rahmayani, or Yani as she is known, recreated each
\nscene of violence, drawing her pictures onto the slides with a
\nblack pencil.<\/p>\n
The scratches of her pencil were basic, having no pretensions
\nto \"proper\" artistic technique. The series of scenes are
\ncollected under one title, Patung Batu and Negeri Terbakar (A
\nStone Statue and a Burning Country), which seems a visual
\ncompanion to her poem Tunjukkan Hatimu Padaku (Show Your Heart to
\nMe).<\/p>\n
The collected scenes are a visual metaphor to verses like, I
\nstand nailed\/in front of a burning mall\/fire flutters\/ Moving
\nwild...\/ A mother looks for her child\/ In panic she calls
\nanybody\/ Somebody says\/ It is there!\/ Immediately the woman ran
\ninto the fire...\/ I'm still nailed\/ On this faithfully-
\nrevolving earth\/ I can't say a word\/ or even spell it...<\/p>\n
With simple and clear language, the black figure present in
\nevery scene of violence in her drawings is a reflection of
\nhelplessness, like a \"stone statue\".<\/p>\n
Violence, it seems, has become a daily fact in Indonesia. It
\nis not only Yani who feels or sees this. We all feel it, and like
\nthe black \"stone statue\" of Yani's imagination, we are helpless,
\nonly able to stand and witness the tragedies.<\/p>\n
In Yani's eyes, violence against women cannot be separated
\nfrom the \"corrupt\" system and structure of Indonesian society.
\nThis established system is a result of society's unfair gender
\nconstruction, which inflicts \"violence\" on certain communities or
\nmarginalized groups.<\/p>\n
\"Speaking of gender, women are constructed as the weaker sex.
\nThis construction becomes a kind of biological nature. However,
\nthis construction is used not just against women, but many other
\ngroups. This is because the oppression is not against the women,
\nbut against the weak. The weak could be anybody. Coincidentally,
\nthe weak are stereotyped as women. So the struggle of gender here
\nmust be a struggle of the weak to reach equality with the others,
\nwho want to maintain the status quo,\" said Yani.<\/p>\n
This is the reason why Yani, in her works, does not depict
\nwomen specifically as the oppressed, but uses nonspecific human
\nforms. This holds true in her work Tetes Darah, Tetes Air Mata (A
\nDrop of Blood, A Teardrop). In this painting, Yani uses bullets,
\ngrenades and guns as metaphors for the masculine, while the
\nfeminine is represented by blood and tears, seen dripping from a
\nblack and white figure. The figures in the painting do not have a
\nspecific gender.<\/p>\n
Unlike Yani's vision, the other artist's in the exhibition
\ntend to show the problem of violence as a black and white issue,
\nin the sense that they see the issue strictly as a male and
\nfemale problem. Therefore, physical forms are very specific and
\nsimple in the works of these artists. This is especially true in
\nWiranti Tejasukmana's Justice Attacked, Tris Neddy Santo's
\nTercabik-cabik (Torn), Non Hendratmo's Silent Hum, Inda C.
\nUtoyo's The Myth and Anna Zuchriana's Tidak ada tempat lagi (No
\nmore space).<\/p>\n
For example, in The Myth, Inda C. Utoyo uses idioms from
\nancient Javanese culture to explore the issue of violence.<\/p>\n
Women become a kind of \"aesthetic decoration\", appearing as
\nornaments on ancient structures. The women are veiled, but at the
\nsame time we see the beauty of their half-naked bodies. The
\npainting shows women being idolized, while at the same time they
\nare marginalized and dismissed. According to Inda, this still
\nhappens today. \"Your praise is a trick, hiding all the violence
\nbehind it.\"<\/p>\n
The woman as a victim of violence also appears in the works of
\nNon Hendratmo, Tris Neddy Santo, Magdalena Pardede, Jerry T and
\nIriantina Karnaya.<\/p>\n
The concept of gender is still being wielded against women,
\nrelegating them to the level of object rather than person.
\nHowever, the violence committed against women is only the most
\nobvious sign of a deeper violence which is inherent in our
\nsociety; violence against the weak and the marginalized. In this
\nsense, the struggle to end violence against women is a struggle
\nto end violence against all groups of society who are seen as
\nweak.<\/p>\n
Our present national nightmare involves everyone, either as
\nvictim or victimized. Through her poems, Rahmayani wants to
\njuggle the thrusting nightmare\/ autocracy\/ to become a red rose\/
\nas a sign of peace and love...<\/p>",
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