Artist Yani Sastranegara hangs with dragons

Carla Bianpoen, Contributor, Jakarta

Looking up in the Atrium of Plaza Senayan, one may stop in wonder, for up there are hundreds of tiny red and gold colored balls on strings. Could it represent the notes of a melody, or is it the lyrics of poetry dancing in space? A closer look reveals the shape of an animal rising to the sky. Amidst the Chinese New Year celebrations the animal could be nothing else but the famous dragon, revered as the divine, mythological creature of good fortune.

Chinese writers describe the animal as the highest celestial power. "It represents fire, authority, and power; the yang element in nature; the first cause". It is thought to have the head of a camel, the horns of a stag, the eyes of a demon, the ears of a cow, the neck of a snake, the belly of a clam, the scales of a carp, the claws of an eagle and the soles of a tiger.

Webster's dictionary describes the dragon as a fabulous animal, generally represented as a monstrous winged serpent or lizard, with a crested head and enormous claws, and regarded as very powerful and ferocious.

The dragon in the atrium, however, appears contrary to such a male-related image, containing more yin elements than one would expect. Watching the almost 12,000 little balls shaping the dragon, is like hearing a melody sounding the substance of a beautiful poem.

"Strength does not necessarily need to be expressed in physical features," says Yani Mariani Sastranegara, the artist who created this spatial installation titled Sinergi Kehidupan and dubbed The Flying Dragon. Real strength comes from within, she contends.

Indeed the power of this dragon is revealed by the magnificence of rhythm in the movements of its gracious curves. The 14m by 7m long work with the yellow ball in this huge space of 13m x 19m x 2m represents the mythical dragon with the fireball, symbolizing the power and energy of the universe.

Legend has it that the dragon can spit out or swallow the ball at will, revitalizing or causing the end of the universe. In the case of the atrium dragon, it gives new life and new hope to the world.

Gliding from various lengths of strings that are fastened to an iron structure against the ceiling, 11,700 balls in red and golden constitute the flowing shape of this incredible installation, an exquisite form of art in a compatible space.

As all the little balls were made of polyresin, Yani covered every little ball with rubber, to prevent casualties when falling down. In this, forty people of the village of Leuwiliang, who she taught how to do the rubbering, provided the necessary assistance. Assistance was also called in from 12 mountaineers to fasten the strings to the high structure up the ceiling.

Entering Senayan Plaza from its main entrance, one is actually first introduced to the dragon by an installation that evokes the illusion of meteors in the galaxy. Some 6,500 stringed, golden balls coming down from the transparent ceiling in the Rotunda take the stylized shapes of clouds seen through a curtain of rain and representing the dragon before dropping its fertilizing showers.

Beneath the hanging installation there is space for shoppers to sit down, relax and recuperate while contemplating the lyrical form of the dragon. Its beauty touches even those who are not familiar with the values of art. Richard Oh of QB bookshops, a noted novelist and arts lover, reveals that while he was looking at the work from the second floor, he saw simple people watch the dragon and say "Bagus ya" (beautiful isn't it). Yet it would have been even more impressive if it had been installed a tad lower.

Some special lighting would also have benefited the grandeur of the dragon.

Commissioning such artwork for its mall, Senayan Plaza has made an important breakthrough, denoting new dynamics in the mall, genuine appreciation for quality art works as well as serious consideration for public education.

Yani is the first artist commissioned to fill this atrium with her work. Takishi Ichiki, the president director of the Plaza said he was overwhelmingly impressed by her stirring exhibition at the Bandung Nu-Art gallery last year.

"I had never seen anything like that," he said. He was referring to ^Endless, Yani's installation of polyresin, clay and broken pieces of clay, a stunning master work suggesting a world of magic that lies between fantasy and the surreal.

Yani reveals that she had never ever thought of getting such commission. At first she thought she might do the same as she did in Bandung, but as her hand started sketching, she knew her internal sense was directing her into something different. What came out looked like a dragon and only then did she start inquiring about the meaning of the dragon in the Chinese tradition.

Yani Mariani Sastranegara (b.1955), is an accomplished sculptor who used to make monolith sculptures. Fascinated with nature, she has been inspired by the natural life ever since she was a girl. An enthusiast of trekking, hiking and mountaineering, she came to sense the balance of yin and yang in nature.

She also found that nature evolved in a way that did not make a problem of life and death, there was no real end, and growth was endless. This was the point where she started her hanging installations.

Her monolith sculptures gradually changed form, fitting better in an installation of natural environment than on a usual exhibiting stand.

"I have explored and experimented with installation for about 2 years," she reveals. But her inborn modesty had withheld her from displaying her new direction.

However, curator Jim Supangkat, with whom she discussed her constraints, assured her the time was ripe for her. The success of her exhibition at Nu-Art proved him right.

--Sinergi Kehidupan, hanging installation by Yani Mariani Sastranegara can be seen at the Rotunda and Atrium of Plaza Senayan in South Jakarta until Feb. 28, 2003.