Artists talking shop

A robot-shaped installation work with a shopping trolley or big posters along Yogyakarta's main streets scream a single message: No more shopping malls.

As the Yogyakarta administration discloses a plan to build more shopping malls to lure investment, activists and artists are stating their dissenting opinion their own way.

Titled Disini Akan Dibangun Mall (A Mall Will Be Built Here), the protest this week involved about 40 artists who staged performing arts on the streets and displayed installation works at main spots in the city.

Although the message was delivered in the hope of preventing a shift in social and cultural values, it may be falling on deaf ears among the public, who continue to flock to the malls.

-- Text and photos by Tarko Sudiarno