Mural project reclaims public space in Yogya

Farah Wardani, Contributor, Yogyakarta

Space has always been a tricky problem for art, particularly contemporary art, in Indonesia. Many say that the numerous galleries in Jakarta, Bandung and Yogyakarta -- considered the metropolitan centers of contemporary art -- cannot serve as the only medium to develop the art form.

This is because the bigger problem is actually rooted in the lack of a relationship between art and Indonesian society. In turn, this explains the general lack of appreciation for art that exists in Indonesia.

The above thought is based on such questions as: how many people actually go to art galleries to enjoy and appreciate art? To what extent can art communicate with people? Does the general public really care about art -- or conversely, does art really care about the general public? What is the role of art in society?

Some might see that art already has a space of its own, or in other words, that it is a private space in itself, an exclusive territory that not many people can enter. Hence, by maintaining itself as a private space, there is always a big gap between art and the public.

Some artists try to solve this problem by bringing art to the public space, thus creating so-called "public art."

One of the most prominent leaders of this art movement is Apotik Komik, a group of young artists from Yogyakarta, currently: Samuel Indratma, Bambang "Toko" Witjaksono, and Arie Dyanto. The group previously included Popok Tri Wahyudi, who left in April 2002.

Formed in 1997, Apotik Komik has been focusing on this approach of developing popular art mediums (often sneered at as "low art") such as murals, graffiti, and comics, and taking the public space as the site of their creative process.

Their murals can still be seen at some public places in Yogyakarta and Jakarta. Most of their work are usually products of a specific project, which delivers particular messages concerning the issue of art in the public space, or problems within the public space itself.

Their latest major project was not restricted to members of Apotik Komik, but also involved 14 other young Yogya artists, who became part of the project by invitation. This massive project was to create a series of murals in some of the city's busiest districts, entitled "Sama-sama" ("Together", from August-October 2002).

As reflected in the title, "Sama-sama" is a collective effort that aims to affirm the social role of art, as expounded in the introductory note of the project proposal, which is not merely to decorate the city, but to create a bond between art and the urban environment, as well as to mediate interactions and dialog among the public.

Expanding upon this initial idea, several young photographers were invited to create photographic art stemming from scenes depicted in the murals, both as response to the work and also as creative documentation. The resulting photography can be viewed at an exhibition held at Bentara Budaya Yogyakarta from Nov. 12- 19, which also marks the completion of the "Sama-sama" mural project.

Inescapably, public space is a sensitive field, and bringing art to the public means that the artwork itself has to compromise to the constructed rules and order within the selected space. The resulting art cannot go so far as to intervene in the norms (and authority) of the surrounding vicinity, but still has to stand out somewhere between the obscenity of wild graffiti, the ornamental sense of city decorations, and the authoritative aura of monuments.

The artists' strategy lies in trying to position themselves as part of society, of urban life, instead of as watchers standing outside of society, looking on from a distance. This project attempts to eliminate that distance, or at least, to bridge the distance.

So how has the project come out? The most massive work is the series of murals across the giant pillars and walls underneath the flyover at Jl. Lempuyangan, the large grim constructions lit up with bright-colored pictures and various scenes from the artists' imagination.

The artists have turned the public space into a mural of their laissez-faire. Pleasant-looking absurdities of hybrid figures, mostly drawn in comic-book style, play around before every pedestrian's eyes: a weird angel, huge watermelons, surreal creatures, a muscular giant stretches out his arm like Atlas and holds the bridge, and so on.

Could this carnival of fantasies be able to give a more human touch to the dusty jungle of brick constructions and illuminating electric lights? The general aura created by the murals seems to represent the artists' unified voice.

How the works, as a whole, relate to their surrounding environment -- as in inviting society to join their spirit of reclaiming the public space -- remains a question. The greater challenge they have to face in penetrating urban reality is to survive all the complexities of urban life -- with all the rigidity and rapidness of the city's hard, fast life, where each element seems to move in transience to one another.

The spirit was more easily grasped when the project was still in progress, when the artists could be seen in action, painting the walls perched on high scaffolds, blending in with sidewalk vendors, cars, motorcyclists, pedestrians and other passers-by as they were suspended in the attractiveness of their performance. That was the moment this art/performance gave a psychological impact on its surroundings.

With the project finished, it is left to time to tell how the spirit will endure the fast rhythm of urban life and not become obsolete, ending up as just another exotic decoration, a memorabilia of among the other "artistic" activities of Yogya.

Nevertheless, the Sama-sama project still deserves to be acknowledged as an act of inviting the public to rethink the meaning of sharing life together, within the complicated and increasingly individualistic urban space. It raises the issue of returning public space to the public, the loss of which perhaps comes to pass, along with the loss of togetherness in realizing our urban dreams.