Painter Sopandi explores ethnic art of isolated tribes
Painter Sopandi explores ethnic art of isolated tribes
By R. Fadjri
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Achmad Sopandi has immersed himself in the
rites and rituals of more than 400 ethnic communities in
Indonesia, including the isolated Baduy Dalam people in South
Banten, West Java.
He is not an anthropologist: he collects information to create
his art, not for science.
Since he became a lecturer at the Jakarta Teachers' Training
Institute, he has spent time with the Kubu community in Jambi,
the Dayak in Kalimantan, the Bajau in Sulawesi and Asmat in Irian
Jaya.
He familiarizes himself with local mythology, and this enables
him to understand the spirit of community life far from the
influences of modernization.
He is strongly attracted to cultural objects and visual
symbols in the mythology of the relatively isolated ethnic
groups.
Those contacts are evinced in what he expresses on canvas.
Thirty paintings -- all in distinctive ethnic styles -- are on
exhibit at Ardiyanto Gallery here until this Saturday.
Ornaments in the form of animals common to local mythology are
often found in his works -- lizards, swine, birds and fish -- but
the shapes are distorted.
Sopandi's expression sometimes resembles primitive painting,
with strong decorative tendencies.
His works are heavily supported by elements of lines,
composition and a trend toward strong monochrome colors.
For instance, in Jaro Telu Tangtu Telu, Baduy, animal forms
nearly fill the whole surface against a terra cotta background;
swine, frogs, birds, tortoises, and snakes seem to depict the
wealth of the fauna in the countryside.
In Jagad Etnik, Sopandi only uses two colors which tend to be
monochrome. Four human figures drawn from dark brown naive lines,
against the background of animal forms which fill the whole
canvas.
Though not as narrative, Sopandi's ethnic paintings have the
theme of an unspoiled environment untouched by modernization. His
works express his journeys described in a highly ornamental,
symbolic language.
The environmental theme is enhanced by the use of paints he
made himself of natural raw material.
Sopandi uses woka leaves to obtain blue, pere stones to make
ochre, shells mixed with vinegar to get white and even ants'
nests to obtain red and brown. He obtains the materials in the
Baduy's surroundings.
He makes his paintings during visits to the villages, always
traveling with a large quantity of canvases and handmade colors.
Sopandi's attraction to the life of isolated ethnic groups
began in 1974 when he was active in the scouts movement at his
high school.
He also frequented the Baduy Dalam community in the Kendeng
mountains.
"I had to walk for several days to reach the area called Tanah
Kenekes," said the graduate of the ASRI painting art academy in
Yogyakarta.
Born in Tasikmalaya, West Java, he said he knew from an early
age that his views were sometimes not in accordance with those of
the community. But he still managed to cultivate a strong
relationship with his peers.
Sopandi, 49, has visited the Baduy Dalam village dozens of
times. Although the area is actually off-limits to outsiders, he
has been permitted to watch sacred ceremonies.
"I am fortunate that I have been able to see even the most
taboo things, which would be most attractive to anthropologists,"
said Sopandi who once allowed his son to live by himself with the
Baduy for several days.
Sopandi said the Baduy's ornamental work is an expression of
the Sunday Wiwitan faith that has remained unchanged for the past
hundreds of years.
He has no pretensions to study ethnic groups with an
anthropologist's precise eye.
"As a person who likes to go on adventures in the forest, who
is attracted to the fairly original lives of people there, and
who happens to be a painter, I am enthralled at seeing fantastic
ornamental works."