Indonesian artworks on display to the world

Indonesian artworks on display to the world

By Steve Rhodes.

BRISBANE (JP): At precisely 9 p.m. on the ninth day of the
ninth month, in the year 1999, 99 tiny boats, all bearing intense
blue flames, will drift down the Brisbane River and arrive at
Queensland's magnificent riverside Art Gallery. The end of this
symbolic journey will herald the beginning of the Third Asia-
Pacific Triennial Contemporary Art Festival.

The Triennial is one of the most important events on the
region's art calender, in that it is the only event in the world
to bring together artists and their works from Asia, Australia,
and the South Pacific islands.

This year more than 75 artists from 20 countries, from
Australia to China, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, will be
represented at the exhibition. Art works will include mediums
such as photography, video, CD-ROM, digital art, painting,
textiles, ceramics, installation and performance art. Many of the
works also offer opportunities for audience interaction.

Indonesia is represented by five artists, including Mella
Jaarsma from Yogyakarta in Central Java. Mella is a Dutch born
artist who has been resident in Indonesia since 1984. As an
Indonesian of foreign extraction, Mella has recently considered
questions of ethnic difference and community interest in
performance installations staged in the streets of Yogyakarta
and in art galleries. For APT3 (the Third Asia-Pacific Triennial)
she is developing this theme with a work called Hi Inlander,
which translates as "native-born", a derogatory colonial Dutch
form of address. The "Inlanders" that Mella greets are figures
clad in hooded costumes like Muslim women's jilbab, which are
made of chicken and frog skins.

Mella suggests that while people may look different, they live
in the same social space. Her work begs the question: "What does
it feel like to inhabit another's skin. To look out through their
eyes?"

The organizers of APT3 were so impressed with her self
portrait that it was selected as the illustration backing the
media preview invitations to the event.

As part of their desire for innovation, the organizers have
this year initiated a project for children. Known as The Kids'
APT, the display features interactive art work and projects
developed for the enjoyment of children between the ages of three
and twelve. These promise to be stimulating and educational, as
well as fun.

While the exhibition is best viewed in person, cash-strapped
art buffs who can't afford the trip to Australia don't have to
miss out on what's happening, thanks to The Virtual Triennial, an
exciting new online component of the festival which has been made
possible as a result of extensive international collaborations
between organizations such as the Queensland government and Apple
Computers, who are providing the colorful iMacs for visitors'
access within the gallery.

Launched by Minister for the Arts Matt Foley, the Virtual
Triennial not only expands the scope of the exhibition, but also
allows immediate online participation for audiences around the
world. "This makes the Asia-Pacific Triennial a truly global
event," said Foley.

So to be part of all this excitement, simply check out the web
site at http://www.apt3.net/.

Special features of the Virtual Triennial include performance
and lecture extracts and an email forum involving leading artists
discussing contemporary art and culture. A highlight will be an
online conference where artistic issues concerning new
technologies such as digital art will be discussed by more than
50 international speakers. Information will be available in eight
languages, including Indonesian.

The online conference will be held from Sept. 10 to Sept. 12.
Registration is essential and details are available on the web
site or by phoning Australia + (61) 7 38407314.

The Asia-Pacific Triennial has always been more than an art
exhibition. Its main aim is to increase knowledge within our own
multicultural society of the cultures of the Asia-Pacific Region
through contemporary art.

The theme of the exhibition also takes into account the
concern the artists in the region have about positively
contributing, through their creativity, to their communities'
present wellbeing as well as the communities' ongoing and
hopefully culturally enriched future.