Heri Dono surrealistically ridicules political realities
By Pandaya
JAKARTA (JP): When Soeharto ruled Indonesia with an iron hand for 32 years, he made enemies of artists who dared to express the truth of sociopolitical realities in their own way.
In the 1980s, numerous art performances were banned on the pretext that the plays could stir "social unrest" or "sow hatred toward the government" that would eventually create instability in the development Soeharto pursued at any cost.
But the artists proved to be hard to conquer by intimidation or force. They loved making fun of the old despot in either a subtle or direct way.
Now that the dictator has fallen, they have unprecedented freedom to make fun of legendary corruption and abuse of power by past and present governments. Many entertainers and fine art artists have cashed in on this new-found freedom.
As artists have become awash in euphoria from Soeharto's downfall, contemporary artist Heri Dono is trying to retain his shine with originality, although his works still revolve around satire of the sociopolitical realities.
While other artists focus on expressing their pent-up frustrations, Heri has leaped a few steps forward. He ridicules not only Soeharto, Habibie, the military and the whole corrupt system but also opposition figures like Amien Rais, Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) and Megawati Soekarnoputri, all of who he portrays as pieces on a chess board controlled by bigger forces.
With his surrealistic figures, Heri remains consistent in his satirizing of political and social discontent. This theme is dominant throughout 24 paintings and five installation he has on display in his Virtual Reality exhibition at Erasmus Huis, Central Jakarta, through July 10.
Absurd and entertaining. Maybe not many Indonesian contemporary artists can cleverly blend the two qualities like Heri, who won the 1998 Prince Claus award. Realities are personified with surrealistic figures: unproportional bodies, one has three eyes, limbs separated from the bodies, male genitals. He employs acrylic on canvas and a collage technique.
His internationally acclaimed avant garde works are a blend of Javanese culture and cosmology with contemporary realities.
On display is a piece he created in 1987, Tampang Kekuasaan (The Face of Power), and creations on his contemplation about sociopolitical realities between 1994 and 1998, when Soeharto's days at the helm were numbered.
Tampang Kekuasaan portrays the inhuman, threatening government power.
His criticism of the dictatorship of the New Order government is stinging. In Menyusu Pada Orde Baru (Suckling on the New Order), he portrays the New Order government as militaristic, which silenced critics by peaceful hook or forceful crook.
One hilarious piece is Kapal Terbang Buatan Sendiri, 1990 (Locally Made Aircraft, 1990), which made fun of the money-losing aeronautic firm, IPTN, then led by B.J. Habibie. An ugly plane stalled in midair near a gleeful eagle all under the gaze of Gatutkaca, a flying knight in Javanese shadow puppet mythology.
Rp 400 billion in state funds earmarked for reforestation programs that Soeharto misappropriated for an IPTN prototype aircraft is alluded to with an image of tree stump emblazoned with a skull and crossbones.
The status quo reformist battle is also a target of Heri's satire in Main Catur, 1994-1998 (Playing Chess, 1994-1998), in which the mighty military-backed Soeharto is challenged by a handful of unarmed prodemocracy figures like Megawati Soekarnoputri, Amien Rais, Ali Sadikin and SCTV broadcaster Ira Kusno.
Main Catur is an abstract of the political confusion Indonesia is witnessing. In the Javanese dialect, catur also means talk, and in this context, Heri alludes to how Indonesians have been spellbound by all the politicians' empty propaganda.
"Now everyone's mind is obsessed with these political actors, whether they like it or not, whether they realize it or not," Heri said.
But not all his works are about politics. In Masuk Surga Okay (Enter Heaven Okay), Heri expresses his concern about abortion among Indonesia's young women.
Heri, who lives in Yogyakarta, where he studied fine arts at the Indonesian Institute of Fine Arts, and who is also known as a contemporary performing artist, also has five installations on display.
They comprise five television sets showing video images of May 1998 riots in various cities. Each set features a close-up of men wanting to say something at a gunpoint (a wooden toy gun fixed in front of each screen). Different ethnic music blares from each set.
For Heri, art is like a window. Explaining why he loves using the electronic media for his installations, he says TV and radio help people see beyond that window.
The Prince Claus Foundation describes Heri as an "unconventional" artist. He combines his understanding of the Javanese culture with modern universal values in his works, that include paintings, drawings, installations and performing arts.
Although he is an artist by training, he likes learning from people in the street. He learns prophecy from mbah (grandfather) Marijan, a soothsayer living at the foot of Mount Merapi and learns Javanese philosophy from Sukasman, a wayang (leather puppet) maker.
"For me, mbah Marijan explains things more clearly than academics and all the books I have read," he says. "We have one thing in common, that is the way we see the future and hope."
Last year, he amused Yogyakartans when he came back from Mount Merapi with a truckload of clay. With Sultan Hamengkubuwono X's consent, he made it into a monumental installation and displayed it in the palace's north square and at the Indonesia-France Institute.
His works have been collected by major museums and galleries around the world, including Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam, Artoteek in The Hague, Fukuoka Art Museum in Japan, Museum der Kulturen Basel in Switzerland, the Singapore Art Museum and the Queensland Art Gallery in Australia.
"Everyone has to have political awareness," Heri says. "An artist will not be able to give his work meaning unless he has that awareness."