Indonesia at the Venice Biennale 2005

Carla Bianpoen, Contributor, Jakarta

Adjusting to the winds of change, the Venice Biennale, one of the oldest and most prestigious exhibitions of contemporary art in the world, has nominated Maria de Corral and Rosa Martinez from Spain as the two directors in charge of the 51st International Arts Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, opening on June 12.

It is the first time for women to take charge of the event, which this year takes a look at the relationship between the present and the most significant past (to be held in the Italian Pavilion), and the relationship between the present and the most innovative trends (to be seen in the Arsenale di Venezia).

In a further sign of the changing times, the president of the Fondazione la Biennale di Venezia, Davide Croff, and the directors of the 51st International Art Exhibition have announced that the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement will be awarded to artist Barbara Kruger from the United States. The award will be presented on June 10 in Venice during a ceremony at the Teatro alle Tese in the Arsenale.

It seems that the changing mood has also touched the works that will be exhibited at the Indonesian pavilion at the Venice Biennale, beginning on June 11.

As curator Dr. Dwi Marianto explained in an interview in April in Yogyakarta, at a time of overall gloom and sadness caused by bomb threats, terrorism, violence and a succession of calamities and national disasters, culminating in the tsunami in Aceh and the earthquake in Nias, it is important to allow oneself to retreat from the flurry of news and the buzz of the everyday. One must be able to retreat into the space of the personal and be still in order to uplift the spirits and the flow of a new energy to fill our lives.

"We may be devastated and poor, but we must never give up hope," he said.

With this in mind, Dwi Marianto selected four Indonesian artists for the Indonesia pavilion at this year's Venice Biennale, who were given the theme Daya Hidup (Life Force). While the works by Krisna Murti (1957), Noor Ibrahim (1966) and Entang Wiharso (1967) reflect efforts to cope with today's issues, Yani Mariani Sastranegara's work culminates in a sublimation of inner spirit, resulting in an elevation of the human being.

Entang Wiharso deals with the issue of intercultural marriage, and the problems arising from different traditional backgrounds and societal prejudice.

His large three-by-six meter oil painting, consisting of three parts and titled Forbidden Exotic Country, expresses his feelings of critique and disappointment with U.S. travel warnings and the handling of Indonesian travelers at U.S. immigration gates.

In an installation titled Behind Space, however, Entang symbolically indicates that the brushing together of two cultures is bound to give birth to a new culture. In a three-by-four-by three meter house made of pink-magenta colored textile, two figures facing each other are hung in lying positions. The floor in the obscure space is covered with rose petals, both from original as well as hybrid roses. After a few days, the petals smell of decay. But in the next stage they will have dried, filling the space with a wonderful scent.

For the sculptor Noor Ibrahim, the over 300 ethnic groups united in the Indonesian nation abound with problems and deportments that hamper progress in the human condition. On the other hand, he feels there are strong survival instincts. Such is visualized in his installation works, inspired by the tsunami devastation: one is titled Fossilised Behavior, measuring 1.85-by-two-by-three meters, consisting of a metal figure rising up from the earth covered with clothing, like the dead bodies of the tsunami disaster. Going Higher, an installation measuring 1.50-by-1.60-by-four meters, features a fossil body and stainless steel ladders.

Video artist Krisna Murti's 15-minute video with images of water in waterfalls, water treatments and peaceful landscapes invites a rejuvenating experience. The video artwork is conveyed through three projectors and a transparent cloth. Krisna Murti's work is the result of over two years of research into the question of what "paradise" means in various religions.

"They all visualize paradise with water," he says, and water is also a basic ingredient in modern spas. Hence the title Video Spa.

Yani Mariani Sastranegara's work is an experience not to be missed. As I sat in the dark at Yani's studio in front of the work (which was faintly lighted from the inside), together with curator Dwi Marianto, the Biennale's Indonesian commissioner, Sumarti Sarwono, arts manager Grace Anna Marie and a few others, before the work was packed up for transportation to Venice, we all felt we could sit there for much longer than our time would allow. A profound sense of another world came over us, lifting us into the sphere of the imagery, of the non-material, a blend of beauty and suspense.

Titled Lazuardi, a poetic name for "blue sky", the installation consists of eight sculptures made of whimsical, imaginary plant shapes using natural plant roots for the frames, covered with pastel-colored stretch material and resin for the visual roots.

For some time, Yani Mariani has been preoccupied with the issue of growth: is it limited or can it be prolonged without end? Her work for the Venice Biennale reveals that growth in fact can be timeless if it is related to the spiritual.

For the organizers of the Indonesia delegation, Sumarti Sarwono, Grace Anna and Dwi Marianto, bringing the works of Indonesian artists to represent Indonesia at this prestigious event is a tough job. So far no financial sponsorship has been obtained from the government. The artists have been selling their works in special fund-raising events, and are willing to show some of their works in exchange for a loan to pay for the shipping of works, renting space, etc.

In this sense, plans to hold an Indonesia Day in Venice on Aug. 17 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Indonesian Republic seem quite ambitious, though not impossible given the strong intent and hard work of Sumarti Sarwono and Grace Anna Marie.

Daya Hidup (Life Force), May 11 to Nov. 6 Indonesian visual arts at the Indonesian Pavilion Telecom Italy Future Centre Campo S. Salvador 4826, Boot station Rialto, Venice/Italy