JP/18/GARDAN

JP/18/GARDAN

Theater group sets up 'story exchange' in mall

Sri Wahyuni
The Jakarta Post/Yogyakarta

"Which one would you like to buy? If you want to hear my whole
story as a political prisoner, I suggest that you choose those
four photographs," an old man in his late 60s said as he
approached a couple visiting Galeria Mall here recently.

Examining the list of "merchandise" on offer, while asking a
few questions of the old man, the couple finally agreed to accept
the suggestion and told the cashier on duty that they wanted to
"buy" the story behind the four photographs.

After receiving the four, FX Istiadi, the old man who is a
former political prisoner, then escorted his "customers" to a
marble bench surrounding a decorative pool on the ground floor of
the mall and asked them to sit next to him and relax.

Shortly after the man became engrossed in telling a sad tale
of his life when he was a political prisoner who was exiled for
10 years to Buru island, one of Indonesia's renowned prison
islands for political prisoners during the New Order Era.

He paused occasionally as his guests asked him questions, but
most of the 30 minutes that the cashiers gave them were dominated
by Istiadi's life story.

He was so engrossed with his own history that when he was told
that the time was up for him and his guests to exchange stories,
he had not yet had a chance to listen to his guests' stories.

"It's alright with me. If you want to hear more about the
story of my life, you are welcome to visit me at my house,"
Istiadi said as he left the couple to meet other customers for
the same "duty".

Istiadi was one of six players assigned that day to sell
stories of their own in a theater performance titled Gardanalla
Toko Cerita (Gardanalla Story Store) produced by Yogyakarta-based
Gardanalla Theater.

The performance, on Sept. 29, from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. -- was
part of a larger arts project named re:publik art, organized by
Kedai Kebun Forum arts center, which uses public spaces for its
performances.

Gardanalla Toko Cerita is a site-specific work performed in a
shopping mall.

All the world's a stage

The stage for the performance was the ground floor of the
mall. Only a display counter was set up in a corner of the mall
where the "merchandise" was displayed.

The merchandise on offer was the daily stories belonging to
the six sellers. They were represented through various personal
belongings such as dolls, photographs, boxing gloves, helmets, an
ashtray, CDs, cassettes, necklaces and other objects.

Some of the merchandise was also put in a transparent plastic
bag that each of the sellers carried. Even the articles they
wore, such as rings, a watch, or clothes, could also be bought. A
catalog of the stories on offer was available at the counter.

The six story owners or vendors comprised an ex-political
prisoner (Istiadi), three sales promotion girls (Indah, Febi and
Susi), and a teenage heterosexual couple (Zul and Nia).

Visitors to the mall could buy a story from a seller in
exchange for one of their own. When a transaction was agreed, the
cashier would make note of it and establish a time frame for the
exchange. He would notify the seller when the time was up.

"This is a simplified version of a much larger performance art
project of ours, Gardanalla Toserba. We are still looking for the
right format and time for its launch," Gardanalla Toko Cerita art
director Joned Suryatmoko told The Jakarta Post.

The concept, according to Joned, was inspired by the
consumption pattern of today's consumers, which, he said, had
deviated further and further away from the utility principle. The
same thing occurred when they watched reality TV shows.

"My question is, do they consume with empathy, or do they
watch it just as a show, like other products or services that
they can simply consume?" Joned, who is also Gardanalla Theater's
artistic and production manager, said.

Gardanalla Toko Cerita, according to Joned, was performed to
reexamine the process of consumption while, at the same time,
restore the true value of telling or listening to a story.

"For a person like Pak Is (nickname of Istiadi), the more he
relates the stories of his past life, the better he feels," Joned
said.

Istiadi was only 26 when he was arrested in 1965, following a
coup attempt attributed to the now-defunct Indonesian Communist
Party (PKI). Without knowing what wrongdoing he had committed he
was sent to prison without trial.

While in prison, he was forced to sign a divorce letter and
later found that his wife had been forced to marry somebody else.
After being freed, he found it was very difficult for him to
continue with his life and raise his children (he was reunited
with his family later) with an "ET" mark on his identity card.

"ET" stands for "Ex-Tapol", which literally means ex-political
prisoner. During the New Order Regime, it was difficult for
people with an ET stamp to find jobs as employers, especially
government institutions, would not accept them as employees.

"I come to this performance without judgment. I just want to
give guidance on how critically to enjoy such a show," Joned
said.

Almost all TV stations in the country now air reality shows,
ranging from those that exploit inter-class relationships like
Uang Kaget and Bedah Rumah to those that are developed from
teenage-related problems like Playboy Kabel, Katakan Cinta and
Harap-Harap Cemas.

"They raise questions in me such as, why do rich people all of
a sudden come to the poor and distribute money and why have
people become very attentive to teenager's problems nowadays?

"What is behind it all ?" said Joned, adding that only smart
viewers would benefit from watching such shows.

As many as 49 transactions were made during the performance
that day, with buyers or consumers consisting of individuals to
groups of six people.