Butterfly images recruited in war on AIDS

Butterfly images recruited in war on AIDS

A heightened focus on preventive measures is on the agenda for
the fourth International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the
Pacific, opening today in Manila. Promising drug cocktails
available in the West are still beyond the financial reach of the
official number of 144 Indonesians with full-blown AIDS, and 446
who are HIV-positive. Fund-raising efforts by private
organizations, including the art exhibition detailed below, may
play a major role in supporting public education campaigns on the
disease.

JAKARTA (JP): The butterfly is the inspiration behind a
Jakarta art exhibition to raise funds in the battle against AIDS.

The works, which depict the insect in a multitude of hues and
sizes, offer each artist's interpretation of what the butterfly
signifies.

Some have featured it in much the way it is in real life,
known for its extraordinary colors and habit of flying
capriciously from one flower to another.

Others have translated it into the fragile human forms of men,
women and children fighting their personal wars against Acquired
Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

"Butterflies are beautiful but weak creatures. We encouraged
the artists to associate man, butterflies and AIDS," a former
health minister and now head of the Indonesia AIDS Foundation's
program team, Adhyatma, told The Jakarta Post.

He said visitors to the Men and the 1,000 Butterflies
exhibition at the Regent Hotel should form their own
interpretations.

"It's up to them whether they see the butterfly as a metaphor
for the dissemination of AIDS, or merely as a beautiful
creature," Adhyatma said.

Seventy-five paintings by 26 artists and 50 dresses by
prominent fashion designer Harry Darsono make up the exhibition,
which is due to end on Oct. 28.

All works are for sale, with profits going to the Indonesia
AIDS Foundation to finance campaign activities.

Adhyatma would not estimate how much money would be raised
from the week-long exhibition, but said the foundation would
concentrate its anti-AIDS efforts in two areas: Merauke in Irian
Jaya and Batam in Riau.

He said the two areas were chosen because of the rapid
increase in HIV-positive individuals in their populations.

The Ministry of Health's latest report on HIV/AIDS cases
stated Jakarta had 175 reported cases, followed by Irian Jaya
with 148 cases and Riau with 57.

Under the plan, the foundation will help in raising funds to
finance anti-AIDS campaigns conducted by local foundations, which
already have volunteers working in the areas.

"The funds will be used to train more volunteers and to send
them to remote areas," Adhyatma said.

It was not possible to raise funds in Merauke or Batam, but
funds could be raised here in Jakarta, he said.

"There are many rich people living here in Jakarta. That's why
we came up with the idea of fund-raising here. At the same time,
the rich can help preventing the spread of AIDS."

He said the idea of raising funds through an art exhibition
was taken on enthusiastically by the painters and Darsono.

"We're grateful for the artists' concern over the spread of
AIDS here," Adhyatma said.

The foundation is also planning a fund-raising party, The
Night of the Butterfly, on Oct. 31. Guests are expected to wear
costumes with a butterfly "touch". A fun-run is also being
planned for next month.

"The campaign to fight AIDS needs large amounts of money, and
we can't just sit around waiting for it to come," Adhyatma said.

Creation

Reaction to the exhibition suggests the idea of linking man,
the butterfly and AIDS is an inspired one, as the paintings have
attracted many prospective buyers lured by their uniqueness,
beauty and resplendent colors.

Some visitors have tried to read hidden meanings in the works.
One that invites such inquiry is Menangkap Rahasia Rama-rama
(Learning the Secret of Butterflies).

The painting, by Rahmat Subani Irfani, depicts a skinny hand
breaking out of the darkness through a white canvas, reaching for
a yellow and black speckled butterfly.

"Butterflies are beautiful creatures and full of mystery
because they come out of the darkness," Rahmat said.

Other visitors could not hide their admiration of Menghampiri
Penari (Approaching A Dancer), a lively oil painting by Josephine
Linggar, showing a Balinese woman approached by a butterfly in
the middle of her dance.

The noted Balinese painter, Nyoman Gunarsa, played with colors
in his representation of a Balinese woman swaying her body in
Tari Kupu-kupu (Butterfly Dance), and a woman running after a
butterfly in Kuburu Kupu-kupuku (I Chase After My Butterfly).

"People are always searching for beautiful things and their
own weaknesses," Nyoman said. "They are the 'unfortunate'
butterflies in my works."

Jeihan has interpreted the butterfly as a woman in his two
works, Rina and Maryam. In his artistic vision, women and
butterflies represent each other as magnificent creatures which
are full of mystery.

Harry Darsono, who acted as the exhibition's host, said six
paintings were sold the night before the exhibition opened.

"Among these was one sold to a foreign guest at the hotel. The
guest asked me to pick the painting for him and he paid in cash."

Harry, who also displayed several of his embroidered
tapestries, declined to mention the price of the paintings.

His creations, which sell for between Rp 2 million and Rp 25
million each, received most of the attention during the
exhibition.

One of his dresses, called Midnight Black, has butterflies
created out of black glass beads in its long scarf. In Portia II,
the butterflies are featured in the hand-painted scarf on silk
organza.