'Kremasi Waktu' redefines universal time concepts

By I Wayan Juniarta

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): Noted Balinese artist I Nyoman Erawan is upset.

He is trapped in a daily routine. He starts his day at 6 a.m. At 7 a.m., his kids rush to school, at 10 a.m., he starts working and meeting with friends or clients.

"It is annoying to hear the ticking and ringing of the clock every morning. We have to adhere to tight schedules, made by ourselves," said Erawan.

Men have defined the concept of time based on their perceptions and their urgencies, the artist said. There is no time left for relaxation, for self-contemplation. "We fill up our time with earthly activities to pursue material gains."

In his most recent installation Kremasi Waktu (Time Purification Ritual), performed at an art show held at Agung Rai Museum of Arts on Dec. 20, Erawan could not even comprehend and clearly define the real meaning of time except that it should be purified and be freed from manmade concepts.

Time, according to Erawan, is a universal soul, an unlimited soul.

Erawan's Kremasi Waktu opened an art exhibition presented by artists from Sanggar Dewata art community.

In his performance, Erawan exploited a lot of symbols, words and musical sounds.

Together with noted poet Cok Sawitri, Erawan uttered mantra to protect human beings from evil spirits.

He symbolized man's ambition and anger in the form of a gigantic man wearing a scary red mask. Vigorously performed by Rina, the monstrous creature cut down bamboo sticks which supported the seat of Sira, who represents wisdom and purity -- the earth.

The monster dragged Sira on the ground and kicked him furiously. They engaged in a severe battle, a symbolic fight between good and evil.

Erawan, clad in a white cloth, appeared as a savior, followed by a procession of women who sang kidung (holy songs). They carried jugs of holy water and wooden containers on their heads.

The wooden containers were filled with various offerings and ceremonial tools. The procession led by poet Cok Sawitri sang kidung that tell about time. A man carrying a rebab (traditional string instrument) walked behind the women.

"Rebab voices the stillness. The original voice that exists before the other," explained Erawan.

The sound of rebab accompanied Erawan's steps to the stage where he headed toward a fire. There, he received all offerings presented by the women. Among the offerings were various clocks.

He threw all the clocks into the fire. Solemnly, he burned all forms of human concepts of time symbolized by clocks.

One of the most impressive elements of the performance was the harmonious music composed by Yudane.

The composer widely exploited the sounds of Balinese percussion instruments like gong and kendang. The instruments produced sounds that were, at the same time, familiar and alien to the ears of the audience.

Through this performance, Erawan wanted to achieve his dream, his obsession -- to create art forms as a purification media. Art is seen as a media to regain man's self-identity. He longed to present an art performance as a religious offering to the Creator -- a concept which was widely adopted by most Balinese artists in the past.

Erawan manifests his dreams in most of his artwork, starting from Latta Mamhosadhi, Ruwatan Bumi (Earth Purification), Pralaya Matra, Chaos Cosmos I and Chaos Cosmos II.

"I prefer to call my creations ritual art and I performed them sincerely and solemnly as if I were performing religious rituals," commented Erawan.

In Kremasi Waktu, he involved villagers from his own neighborhood. They presented this performance as natural as possible, without burdens or pretensions.

Erawan's second obsession was to minimize or even eliminate the distance between the performers and their audience, a characteristic of traditional Balinese performing arts.

In this performance, the audience freely violated the conventional regulation of a stage. They mingled with the performers.

However, art observer Jean Couteau said Erawan had excessively borrowed Hindu ritualistic elements for his art creation without giving new meanings.