Seeking respite in FX Harsono's haunting nightmares<\/p>\n
After almost three decades expressing social and political
\nactivism in his art, FX Harsono now finds himself exploring his
\nown existence.<\/p>\n
It is particularly evident in his work Jarum dalam Mimpiku
\n(Needles in My Dream) at the ongoing CP Biennale. Consisting of
\neight panels, the 160 x 400 cm work, showing Harsono in various
\npositions, is executed with a blend of digital print on photo
\npaper, screen print, crayon and acrylic on canvas. Needles are
\nparticularly visual in the last panel.<\/p>\n
In his dreams -- or rather nightmares -- needles flow through
\nhis veins and nerves, and when he tries to cut his hand in the
\ndream to get rid of them, they continue to return to pierce his
\nskin.<\/p>\n
Needles affect his very existence; they are in every smile
\ndirected his way, every utterance, even in every sermon from the
\npulpit. Needles have become his metaphor for the pain he feels at
\ndiscriminating attitudes in society, a pain he relives over and
\nover again.<\/p>\n
Harsono, who is of mixed Javanese-Chinese descent, was born in
\nBlitar, a town in East Java. His grandmother was of Javanese
\ndescent, and from her he came to know the various aspects of
\nJavanese culture. He said he also learned bits and pieces of
\nChinese culture from his parents, and also at the Chinese
\nelementary school where he was a pupil up to the third grade.<\/p>\n
Then he entered a Catholic school and was introduced to what
\nwas called "Western" culture. He went on to study visual arts in
\nYogyakarta, and subsequently moved to Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Harsono claims his roots or defining a "homeland" are not
\nimportant to him, and this is perhaps evident in his artworks.
\nYet, underlying his poignant grievances against the Soeharto
\nregime that ruled during his formative years and young adulthood
\nmay lie the pain he was feeling at the systematic acts of
\ndiscrimination against him as an ethnic Chinese.<\/p>\n
Harsono became an active member of the Gerakan Seni Rupa Baru
\n(Indonesia New Art Movement) that sought to redefine Indonesian
\nvisual arts in the early 1970s. He was among the art activists
\nwho caused many headaches to the ruling bureaucracy, resulting in
\neven tighter rules regulating artistic expression at the time.<\/p>\n
But the movement eventually dissolved and members went their
\nown way, although the issue of New Art lingered on, and
\nultimately action was taken, as evident in the holding of the CP
\nOpen Biennale which is curated by a former proponent of the
\nmovement, Jim Supangkat.<\/p>\n
In 1985 Harsono emerged again on the activist scene when he
\njoined the exhibition at Galeri Pasar Ancol which was titled 85.
\nIn a paper prepared for a preexhibition discussion, Harsono gave
\nan emotional condemnation of those who failed to raise issues
\nthat lay at the heart of society. But in 1987 he decided to go
\nback to school, furthering his studies in the Painting Department
\nof the Jakarta Art Institute (IKJ) until 1991.<\/p>\n
Harsono is known for his strong social concern, apparent in
\nhis works, mostly installations, that decried the repressive
\nsituation in the country during the New Order.<\/p>\n
An example was his The Voices are Controlled by the Powers
\n(1994). Consisting of 100 masks similar to those in the wayang
\ntopeng mask drama, the installation was a reflection of the
\nsociopolitical situation, with the severed mouths a moving and
\npowerful condemnation of the lack of free speech.<\/p>\n
Such emotions were again vented in his work titled Voice
\nWithout a Voice\/Sign (1994). Here nine screen prints of sign
\nlanguage spelled out the word D-E-M-O-K-R-A-S-I, the last letter
\nrepresented by a hand.<\/p>\n
Another example came in a 1997 performance work, in which he
\ncriticized the upcoming elections with only three political
\nparties contending. Masks laid on chairs representing the people
\nwere burned to represent their helplessness. Harsono himself was
\ndressed as a bureaucrat, with white and red flames painted on his
\nface.<\/p>\n
After the fall of Soeharto in 1998, Harsono continued with his
\nsocial critique in his works. But gradually a sense of severe
\ndisappointment led him to look inward. As the restrictions on
\nfree speech fell, the increased focus on one as individual
\ncontributed to a growing disregard for the plight of others.<\/p>\n
It made him sick, he said, and the change of mind of those
\nwhom he considered friends and allies exacerbated his confusion.
\nAs disappointment became revulsion, he became aware of realities
\nhe had not seen before.<\/p>\n
At the same time the question of who he himself actually was
\nbegan to emerge. He became more interested in himself, apparent
\nin his works at his solo exhibition last June.<\/p>\n
Its title of Displaced hinted not only at his loss of ground
\nin what he used to think was his own society. More than that, it
\nis about the sense of alienation and "statelessness" that he had
\nto endure as a man whose grandmother was Javanese and his father
\nethnic Chinese descent.<\/p>\n
Living with the paradox of having been born in Indonesia and
\nidentifying with its culture but discriminated against because of
\nhis father's descent, Harsono finally seems to be reaching some
\npeace about who he is.<\/p>\n
At least that is the impression of his photo-etching titled
\nTubuhku Adalah Lahan (My Body is Arable Land). Lifting up his
\nhead, the image, as in a photographic multiple exposure, seems to
\nbe resigned to putting his problems in the hands of the
\nomnipotent one, his hands stretched up and plants growing on
\nthem. He is declaring that, "I am only the land on which my wife
\nand my children plant the seed of the future".<\/p>\n
He is getting there, but perhaps still needs time to reconcile
\nthe feelings about alienation and the pain of discrimination
\nagainst him. Although personal experience may have fed his
\nsociopolitical works of the past, today, when everybody has the
\nright to their say, he can speak for and about himself. Perhaps
\nnow is the right time to overcome the pain once and for all, and
\ndeal with those nightmares.<\/p>\n
-- Carla Bianpoen<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/seeking-respite-in-fx-harsonos-haunting-nightmares-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }