From 1998 to 2004, 'Donosaurus' marches on
From 1998 to 2004, 'Donosaurus' marches on
Carla Bianpoen, Contributor, Jakarta
Heri Dono's 11th solo exhibition, currently on show at Galeri
Nasional, is evidence of his continual fascination with wayang,
comics, and sociopolitical commentaries.
The exhibition, which includes 10 paintings and 15
installations made between 1998 and 2004, evokes a sense of ennui
in those who are familiar with his work.
Others, however, continue to marvel at his grotesque and
distorted wayang or out-of-this-world, often spooky images that
take the exaggerated shapes of monsters or aliens from outer
space.
Mostly spiced up with humor -- or satire that stretches to
cynicism -- Dono's poignant messages on oppression, power abuse
and violent authority are in fact commentaries on the comic and
tragic aspects of the human condition, particularly in his home
country.
Seeing Indonesia is like viewing a painting in a mirror, every
shape is seen in its reverse so that it becomes logical and
agreeable, he declares.
His earliest work titled Playing Chess is of distorted
figures, which represent political leaders, playing chess. Dono
has produced numerous such paintings, often resembling each other
in the monstrous dimensions of their subject matter.
But what really captures our attention is Dono's installations
with robot-like figures representing the human condition, such as
Political Clown, Fermentation of Mind or Watching the Marginal
People.
One of his three recent installations is called Shock Therapy
for the Political Leaders. The installation consists of a row of
10 chairs -- with each row measuring 73 cms x 30cms x 30cms --
hanging on the wall. Above a tiny sculpture on the seat of each
chair is a small gong which moves mechanically. The twist is that
the figures, which should be sitting in their chairs, are in fact
hanging upside down from the chair's legs.
His critical observations often surpass local or national
issues. Trojan Cow, which received international acclaim at the
Venice Biennale, is his comment on the 9/11 bombings, while
Trojan Horse mocks the American invasion of Iraq . In his
paintings Perjalanan ke Planet Mars (Journey to Mars) and Tarzan
Menjaring Astonaut (Tarzan nets astronauts), he jeers at
superpowers who he accuses of using their prestigious outer space
projects to illustrate their superiority over so-called Tarzan
countries.
The painting is not confronting at first glance. The figures
are painted in a childish manner, evoking the sense that a child
has been at work.
Heri Dono has been a practicing artist for over twenty years,
during that time he has earned a reputation for art that
synthesizes elements from international and Javanese traditional
art, while also showing his enthusiasm for cartoons.
His stature is reflected in his participation at major
international biennales and triennials, as well as residencies
in Australia, Brazil, Cuba, Japan, Indonesia, Korea and Shanghai.
His was also invited to the prestigious Venice Biennale.
The 43-year-old Dono was born and raised in Jakarta, where he
enjoyed a sense of freedom among the artists at Taman Ismail
Marzuki (TIMI), whom he observed were able to say what they
wanted. Since early childhood, he had dreamed about freedom of
expression. Angels became his motif.
To him, angels symbolize freedom. "Angels have wings and can
fly wherever they want." And so his angels take him to the
remotest corners of his imagination, picking up elements of real
life, wayang, and cartoons along the way.
An earlier motif was that of an androgynous angel with stern
features. The angel seemed to have come from outer space with
clapping wings, driven by a mechanical device, and a dangling
penis. Was Dono hinting at the practice of patriarchy in society?
Flying Angles, which looked like butterflies from afar, was later
shown with slight changes in title and composition to represent a
new variation of the same theme, such as Angels Caught in a Trap.
His latest work on angels is the installation titled Bidadari
Turun ke Bumi (Angels descend to the earth), a grouping of angels
this time with women's features (although the penis is still
there).
A low-tech wizard, Dono has a zest for simple toy-like
devices. Perhaps he feels the need to balance the international
flights and hectic schedule that have become second nature to
him.
The exhibition comes with a book on Heri Dono titled Who is
afraid of Donosaurus, which is written by Hendrowiyanto and
published by Nadi Gallery.
Who is Afraid of Donosaurus, a solo exhibition of the works of
Heri Dono, organized by Nadi Gallery at Galeri Nasional in
Central Jakarta, from March 2 until March 12.