Artist Krisna Murti experiments with technology

Artist Krisna Murti experiments with technology

Alex Wilson, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

By blending ancient Javanese language, traditional dance,
video technology and characters from epic story Mahabharata,
Krisna Murti explores themes of tension between past and future
in his latest work, Wayang Machine.

The result is a beautiful and mysterious contemporary version
of the ancient art of Wayang.

Hundreds of images of dancer and musician Made Sidia in agem
positions from traditional Balinese dance are used to cast the
modern shadows of Krisna's Wayang. The heads of characters from
the Mahabharata are super-imposed on these images. For most of
the work the background is black and the images are luminous
blue, a reversal of traditional wayang kulit where shadows are
cast on a floodlit screen.

Made Sidia, the son of one of Bali's greatest artists I Made
Sija, also adds improvisational gamelan sounds and narrates in
ancient Javanese.

The images are projected onto multiple screens giving a
feeling of involvement which Krisna says drew him to the medium
of video. He sees no conflict between the ancient stories and the
modern techniques used to present them.

"For me modern and traditional are not something different -
we can make them together. Wayang is traditional and I am using
the new medium of video art to create something modern."

Wayang Machine, however, uses modern techniques in a
charmingly "innocent" manner. Still, images make occasional and
clumsy movements, sometimes moving from one screen to the other.
For the first 45 seconds there is only darkness and narrative.
The audience is encouraged to use their imaginations and not to
see the work as just another multimedia product to be consumed.

The central character of Wayang Machine is Bismah, an
important figure in traditional wayang. His fixation with truth
and decency is challenged by Karna and Amba who know of his dark
and bloody past. Krisna sees the theme of tension between a
troubled past and aspirations for an uncertain future as
particularly relevant to Indonesia.

"I see Indonesia is in tension, putting a distinct line with
its past - the collective memory," he said. As the country
struggles for a democratic future free of corruption "many times
we are put back again in bad memories".

Krisna says another focus of the work is the attempt to delve
into what lies beyond the visible. "In Java and Bali the shadow
is not only an invisible but a visible thing," he said. "I wanted
to show both of them."

The haunting old Javanese language used is part of this
attempt to focus on what is hidden. The language failed to adapt
to industrialization and is now unusable in Java, yet Krisna has
an almost mystical belief in its power to communicate.

"I believe this bahasa (language) has a strong function for
expressing or transmitting something from the spirit of human
beings," he said. "When there is no movement of the image I am
using this language to make something more alive. By alive I mean
something more than the functional life of everyday. It is a kind
of mantra."

As few understand the old Javanese language, the story is
narrated in Bahasa Indonesia as well. It is a strange and
affecting experience, listening to the story in one language and
hearing the rise and fall of an ancient tongue in the background.

There are plans for Wayang Machine to be shown overseas with
narration in the local language. Krisna hopes to present the art
of wayang and the expressive power of the Javanese language to
the world. In the meantime, it will be shown in various venues
around Indonesia including Islamic schools.

Krisna points out that although it is from the Hindu
tradition, wayang has been used in Java by Muslim clerics to
illustrate the values of Islam.

Much care has been taken in the adaption of this excerpt from
the Mahabharata epic. An expert on ancient Balinese literature
was consulted to ensure the script gave an accurate portrayal.

Krisna hopes traditionalists will be satisfied and see the
value of his exploration of wayang in a contemporary form.

"I'm sure that they will appreciate it if they know the
concept, because we are talking here about meaning beyond the
physical - wayang is a way to express inner things."