Maninjau in the minds of female artists

By Stephanie Bell

JAKARTA (JP): The incredible array of colors, textures and materials on display may strike visitors as they explore the small, intimate, purple space at the Kinara Kinari Gallery on Jl. Kemang Timur, South Jakarta.

Visions From Maninjau, open until Saturday, is the end of a journey of six women from Australasia and Singapore who traveled to the remote West Sumatran community of Maninjau to capture what they saw, felt and experienced.

They lived for one month last year by Lake Maninjau, which they all agreed was breathtakingly beautiful. While this provided a peaceful backdrop for their creations, they were easily able to mix with the people in the small community, just as important to the artists' work as the natural environment.

Some painted, some sculpted, others drew and photographed. But all of them gained inspiration from the natural beauty of their surroundings, the people of Maninjau and each other.

Singaporean artist and sculptor Selina Lau arrived in Maninjau with an idea of what she wanted to achieve, but allowed her experiences and vision to guide her. Lau's work is always an expression of her spirituality, sometimes combining East and West.

She arrived knowing that she wanted to produce a piece combining the Western religious icon of the Rosicrucian Cross with an Eastern spiritual Tibetan meditation symbol. She was, however, unsure of the colors she would use until the morning she began her piece, Meditation Journey Into Intuition.

"That morning, I decided on the colors as I watched dawn by the lake, while listening to Gregorian chant music. The lake was silver, beautiful."

The final product is a blend of her impressions of the silver of the lake and the green of the trees surrounding its waters.

Other artists looked to the community for inspiration. Donna Hanson initially had no idea what she would come back to Jakarta with. After watching children in the community who loved flying kites, she spent her time producing a series of paintings which were her impressions of the kites.

While her works are as rich in color and life as the inspirations for them, they are definitely to hang on the wall, not fly in the air! Hanson has also produced other similar pieces, which are as much her impressions of her experiences as what she saw. There are two of the lake and the land surrounding it, called Land Trailed by Water, and two paintings which are impressions of the local mosque, titled Spiral Roof.

Once the people of Maninjau discovered that artist Debbie Hall needed wood for her sculptures they were only too happy to help in bringing her many pieces. Hall, who produced a series of reliefs on wood sculptures, was able to use the wood to create her impressions of the local culture and people with works such as Selamat Datang (Welcome) and a series of three sculptures, Rites of Passage.

Sue Ninham's works are as diverse as the land and the people she lived among during her stay. Works that have proven popular with residents of Jakarta (half have already been sold) also drew admiration and appreciation from the people of Maninjau. Her drawings of classic West Sumatran homes capture glimpses of an architectural style no longer being built or demolished to make way for new development. The local people felt it was important that someone capture and record their history.

While all the artists were inspired by the beauty of their surroundings, photographer Jilly Blackman, whose special interest is people, found the best material for her work in the community.

While sitting in a barber's shop one day in Maninjau, she noticed two women in the market. One of them was carrying a bag, filled with crockery they were planning to sell, which bore a picture of the late Diana, Princess of Wales. Although the women had owned the bag for a long time, neither knew the identity of its famous face.

Blackman also features beautiful photographs of local children, a mosque and the paintings on truck mudguards. Her reasoning for taking photographs of the latter odd subject is that she wanted to show works of others in her own art.

Tannete Hickey's work is vibrant and colorful, and like Hanson's, features abstract impressions of the environment and expressions of her feelings.

"It wasn't so much about what I was seeing, but what I was experiencing, what I sensed."

Ra Hickey, the artist's eight-month-old daughter and greatest work yet, added to the energy and atmosphere.

The artists' interaction with one another was another important ingredient in their creations. "When you get a group of women together, it's the beginning of ideas, a source of support and energy," Hanson said.

"What I gained was support," Lau agreed. "I've never worked with other people. Suddenly, other professional people were there to give their thoughts and inspirations. I'd do it again."

She added that the experience provided a renewal in art and life.

"All of us felt as if we were on a threshold, that doors opened for us, to new career paths, a connection with other energies, moving. Emotionally and spiritually, it was a passing of the old."