Semsar back home for exhibition<\/p>\n
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Semsar is back.<\/p>\n
For those unfamiliar with the name, Semsar Siahaan is
\nconsidered one of today's foremost Indonesian artists. Not only
\nbecause his work has received numerous awards from the
\ninternational community, but also because of his consistency in
\ndeveloping humanistic themes throughout the span of his long
\ncareer.<\/p>\n
Semsar's artistic creations unfailingly question people's
\nconscience of what is right and what is humane, even when people
\ndo not want to be reminded. For this he was forced to leave the
\ncountry in 1998 for Canada, as artist in residence.<\/p>\n
His last exhibition in Indonesia was the Ecoseed exhibition in
\nMarch 1998 about environmental awareness.<\/p>\n
For five years and three months he lived in Canada, a
\ndeveloped country by international standards, yet with their own
\nproblems as Semsar found out.<\/p>\n
"A country that has its own conflicts of humanity, which it
\nwraps carefully in a cloth that is adorned by the beautiful
\nornaments of 'multi-culturalism', 'civil rights', and 'freedom of
\nspeech'," he wrote in the catalog of his latest exhibition, The
\nShade of the Northern Lights, to be held on Aug. 15 to Aug. 30 at
\nGaleri Nasional.<\/p>\n
People from developed countries often cringed when they looked
\nat human rights violations in Indonesia, when in fact these
\nviolations were not much different from some of the problems in
\ntheir own countries, Semsar said in an interview recently.<\/p>\n
The Shade of the Northern Lights, he explained, dealt with the
\nshadow that covers the beauty of the aurora borealis, or Northern
\nLight, a natural phenomenon that can only be seen in the
\nnorthern-most part of the earth.<\/p>\n
More than 60 works will be exhibited, all created during his
\nstay in Canada, and based on Semsar's everyday experiences and
\nkeen observances of what was going on around him there.<\/p>\n
Whether on used corrugated cardboard such as his G-8 Pizza, on
\nshoe boxes like his Study of the Falling Man, or simply black ink
\non paper, Semsar's art has the clarity to make people stop and
\nwonder.<\/p>\n
Topics including the homeless, gun violence, marginalized
\nindigenous people and the wickedness brought about through
\ncapitalism, are all presented here in true Semsar style: With
\nhonesty.<\/p>\n
"These are all experiences in Canada, but the theme is
\nuniversal ... all the world is filled with violence," he said.<\/p>\n
This plainsaying may not please everyone, but this time Semsar
\nis here to stay.<\/p>\n
The Shade of the Northern Lights exhibition opens Aug. 15 to Aug.
\n30, 2004, at Galeri Nasional, Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur 14, Gambir,
\nCentral Jakarta.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/semsar-back-home-for-exhibition-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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