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."