Art exhibition explores myths about water

By Ahmad Solikhan

YOGYAKARTA (JP): The melodies of traditional Javanese music were faintly audible in the dark, and then there appeared the shadow of a young girl wrapped in a batik cloth stepping toward a fountain.

She took a in from her hair bun, letting her hair flow freely to her shoulders, and then she slowly took off the pieces of cloth wrapped around her body, one piece at a time. Then she took a water dipper made from a coconut shell and placed it in a large earthenware bowl of water. She took some water to bathe her genitals.

The girl's wish to cleanse her mind and her spiritual eyes with water was granted. She broke the earthenware bowl with the water dipper. The water spilled out and soaked through the pores of the earth. It is her hope, too, that this water may later also cleanse the mind and spiritual eyes of the community and free them of their mundane affairs.

While this sacred bathing ritual was going on, one could hear sounds emanating from a number of toy boats, like those usually seen during a sekaten (a traditional fair in Yogyakarta). The sound of these children's toys accompanied the bathing ritual, indicating that fishermen hope the South Sea will always be kind to them and bestow upon them good fortune.

A piece of coarsely woven white fabric was intentionally hung to provide a translucent screen so as not to reveal too much during the performance. In this way, one may wonder about the real meaning of water. The cleansing of the rural girl is a rite of offering, a token of gratitude to the ruler of the South Sea for the welfare enjoyed by the Yogyakarta community.

This is the contemplations of a unique artist about "water" as the source of life for all living creatures in the universe. This is the sequel to Land of Merapi, exhibited last year, which was taken up as a symbol of prosperity by the community around the Yogyakarta sultan's palace.

The performance of this offering served to complement the opening of an installation exhibition called Tirtara, by Heri Dono, at the Indonesian-French Institute (LIP) in Yogyakarta.

The exhibition began on July 15 and will end on Aug. 6. Dono, who has repeatedly traveled round the world, has not only come up with the idea for the installation using cement beams, statue heads and cardboard pictures as the media to reflect the present sociopolitical condition, but has begun to work on traditional themes related to Javanese myths and culture.

"Water is found in both the microcosm and the macrocosm, including in earth, fire, air, ether and also in the bodies of living creatures. Unless air is well-utilized, it will enrage nature and bring harm to living creatures," said Dono.

The 80-square-meter exhibition room is full of splashes of sandy soil from Mt. Merapi. Tiny magnetic pieces in glass bottles are found in a row on the sand and with the help of some electrical power, these tiny pieces of magnet will touch the glass of the bottles, producing, therefore, a splattering sound like the sand on the beach splashing when hit by breaking waves.

The cows, tended by farmers, all made of galvanized iron, move slowly with the help of a dynamo. This situation is a reconstruction of rural farming activities, to which water is a necessity.

Tending cows is a job that has been passed down from one generation to another, and this shows that unemployment is actually alien in rural areas. This is in stark comparison to life in urban areas, where people are willing to live in highly crowded places and vie with one another just to survive.

In the meantime, a number of pails, made from the same iron, have some bamboo pipes coming out of them. Water flows continuously out of these bamboo pipes and seeps into the sandy soil as a source of life.

Two characters from Javanese shadow puppet plays, Dewa Ruci (the ruler of the sea) and Petruk (a royal servant), both made of bronze, are implanted in the bamboo pipes. These two characters symbolize rulers taking the sides of the people. Tirtara, which is a water spirit from the South Sea, is offered as a prayer with hope that it will serve as an antidote to the physical poison now threatening everybody's lives.

Heri Dono's aim with this installation exhibition seems to be to make the community aware that water should not be polluted, as otherwise it will lead to disaster. Unless water is utilized in the best possible manner, it will put life to an end as it will turn into inundation or protracted drought.

However, the South Sea water as a source of life for the Yogyakarta community, as communicated by Dono in this exhibition, is difficult for the modern community to understand. All living creatures under the sun need water. Water is, therefore, not intended only for certain groups of people. Water does not originate in the South Sea alone but rather in mountain springs running through the roots of large trees.

It may be true to think that Mt. Merapi, a volcano, and the South Sea, are regarded as symbols of fertility and prosperity by some Yogyakarta residents. In the old days, all kings of Java came up with their own myths to secure power.

In this way the common people would continue to be fearful, utilize water properly and have a sense of belonging regarding the surrounding nature. These myths were intentionally introduced to the people to ensure that they would not damage the environment and would fear the king. In this way the king could rule over his kingdom practically without any social upheaval.

Just look at what the Yogyakarta sultans have done. To draw sympathy and demonstrate his great attention to the agricultural needs of rural people, an irrigation canal, known as Selokan Mataram (Mataram Canal) has been constructed in the Progo River. The longest in South-East Asia, this irrigation canal divides the Yogyakarta city in two.

So, when giving his thoughts to Tirtara, Dono fails to link the position of Mt. Merapi, the palace and the South Sea, which are all on the same axis.

Fertility and prosperity do not depend solely on the factor of nature. Rather, they depend on the human resources to manage nature. In fact, there are many poor people without their own farmland or regular jobs. Many of these poor people abandon their villages and try their fortunes in urban areas.

Artists should be familiar with myths in order to be well- acquainted with their cultural roots. However, they must always be on their guard to ensure that they will not be carried away by myths and treat them as sacred. Otherwise, they will remain distanced from reality.

To keep up with the development of circumstances, modern artists must be able to introduce to a pluralistic community the vision and mission of knowledge in their exhibitions.

In this way, the real Tirtara will be found, just like Bima looking for permitasari water in the middle of an ocean, staking his life in his fight against the dragon, which is god incarnate.