Erica's vision spreads to foreign shores

Erica's vision spreads to foreign shores

By Dion Hallpike

JAKARTA (JP): The bright, colorful paintings currently
covering the walls of Galeri Nasional Indonesia on Jl. Merdeka
Timur are only a third of what Erica Hestu Wahyuni has produced
up until now.

This dynamic young artist, who turned 30 on Jan. 1, told The
Jakarta Post that the gallery simply wasn't big enough for her
collection, which is a retrospective of her development as an
artist.

While some artists are applauded for adapting to new schools
of thought or complex artistic methods, Erica's development
translates more openly as a continuing thread and unique style
for which she has received praise in one form or another since
childhood.

Although some art critics are not receptive to this
development and see little in her work that is mature by their
own critical standards, many love Erica's works and are drawn
into her optimistic, fantastical and sometimes dreamlike visions
of the world.

Bright orange elephants in a procession across a city
landscape; an exuberant gathering of smiling people sitting,
ready to eat a banquet of fish; and curious, even surprised
looking cats stretching lazily across the canvasses, all catch
the eye.

The viewer is invited to join in the joviality of the scenes,
perhaps an invitation to reconnect with the inner-child we all
possess.

And like the disproportionate and wildly colorful figures and
landscapes in her paintings, Erica's approach to her work is
ambitious, optimistic, even idealistic at times, while she
continues to ground her art in discipline and consistency.

"Every day I try to put aside some time to paint or make
charcoal sketches, it is like a diary of my life as well as my
work" Erica told The Jakarta Post.

Erica added that many people see this as an attempt to make
money, but she thinks they are misinterpreting her purpose. Not
only does Erica want people to see the improvements and
development of her work through time, she also has plans for
further study of artistic methods, including a three-year Russian
excursion starting in October, and eventually aims to set up an
"open house" in Yogyakarta.

Erica's work does at times, however, share a passion for
depicting a dynamic, happy people involved in harvests and other
communal occasions, as can be seen in The Monument of the
Friendship of People. Erica said she will most likely struggle
with the plastic realism in Russian art, but she is willing to
give it her best -- "Even if my work is not accepted, it will be
worth it".

Hints of melancholy do pervade some of Erica's later works,
such as Imajinasi Indonesia 2000 (The Imagination of Indonesia in
2000), where a trendy young girl, sporting a crown of hearts,
wings of an angel and lace-up army boots, sheds tears with an
orange elephant, who is also crowned. This takes place amid a
collage of recognizably Indonesian monuments and contexts -- the
National Monument with its eternal flame stands out, as do two
men wearing peci (caps) engaged in debate at the dinner table
while a passive woman waits beside them (their choices of food
are heart, human, cow, stars or a military officer). The dull
gaze of a red cow dominates the background, staring carelessly
past the viewer.

As we scan the colorful frame surrounding this vaguely
political mix, the looks of three different women vie for our
attention; one woman lying down with a cat on her lap, looks
directly at the viewer as if anticipating some worthwhile
movement or observation; another woman appears to be falling
downwards and backwards with a mixture of despair and ecstasy
worn upon her face. A blue horse with green wings gallops onwards
in her wake. Another woman is singing on a television program,
dressed in traditional clothing.

Likewise, in one of her paintings from last year, Menunggu
Buka (Waiting for the Opening), a gleeful child gestures with
far-flung arms at the dinner table, but the carelessness and
anticipation of the child is made solitary by the brooding of the
mother, who sits, resting her chin upon her hands, obviously
thinking about something else. There is still a colorful and
orderly arrangement of food and domestic luxuries, but something
is missing from the scene.

After studying the Russian language, new techniques and
contemplating the social and political context of Russian
monumental art, Erica will no doubt return to Indonesia in three
years time with some exciting new perspectives stemming from
challenging interactions.

Erica told The Jakarta Post of her plans to set up an "open
house" in her hometown of Yogyakarta. "I have traveled abroad
very often, and from what I have experienced I see that
professionalism and experience is very important for community
projects like the one I am undertaking. It can't be a temporary
project, it takes time. I can't do it straight away, that would
be 'Mission Impossible'!"

Erica's "open house" would be a place for children and keen
young artists to gather and spend time with her, either painting
or simply observing her at work. They could also play with a
collection of traditional Indonesian games - "No Playstation or
Sega!" Erica insists. The bravest of the children might even be
lured into stroking her pet python!

Erica's depiction of animals with people retains an
element of childhood fascination which is often given the cold
shoulder in artistic circles. Nevertheless, there is definitely
something mystical and enchanting about her colorful elephants,
bizarre cats and seemingly dumb cows. Even if the skin of an
elephant is rough and gray, this is not how Erica sees them.

The exhibition Reka-reka Erica will continue at Galeri
Nasional Indonesia, Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur 14, Central Jakarta,
until April 19. The launch of the book, Erica, Art's Most
Playful Child, will take place on April 18, beginning at 6:30
p.m..