Artist Yani Sastranegara hangs with dragons

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.