Roving art exhibition a window to Indonesia

Roving art exhibition a window to Indonesia

Dewi Anggraeni, Contributor, Melbourne, Australia

Indonesia is becoming better-known in Australia, thanks to the
endeavors of various educational and cultural institutions. On
the streets, however, if you stop people and ask them what the
term "Indonesia" conjures up in their minds, two place names are
very likely to be mentioned: Bali and East Timor.

The Asia Society Australia Center no doubt pondered this issue
before naming its current exhibition Crossing Boundaries; Bali: A
Window to Twentieth Century Indonesian Art.

In Melbourne, housed in Storey Hall, RMIT University, until
the end of September, before moving to other cities in Victoria
as well as Canberra until January 2003, this exhibition has
attracted local interest for its content, as well as its very
well-structured layout.

Balinese artist I Made Djirna's painting, Inspirasi dari Seni
Aborijin (Inspiration from Aboriginal Art), appearing on the
brochure, figuratively takes you across to Bali, the window into
further landscapes of Indonesia.

What unravels on the other side of the window needs to be
savored slowly, as the artistic richness and depth are simply
overwhelming.

Balinese artists are the most represented in this exhibition
-- 32 of 49 paintings. However, the 32 are varied in terms of
style, message and medium. I Nyoman Erawan's oil on canvas, for
instance, curiously titled Untitled, stops you in your tracks.
The contrast of grandeur and decomposition evokes despair and
nostalgia at the same time.

There are also images where the explicit messages slap you in
the face. Examples of these are Kadek Janggo Paramartha's ink and
watercolor on paper, Indonesian Restaurant, portraying a big fat
foreigner reading a menu of Koramil Bakar, Swalayan Bakar,
Kapolsek Bakar and Ninja Bakar, while the waiter with a head of
cattle waits humbly and patiently. Also, Ida Bagus Surya Darma's
ink and watercolor on paper, Bali Burger, depicting bits of
Bali's culture and society as well as its people, all compressed
between two slices of burger bun.

Even I Made Budi's acrylic and Chinese ink on paper, President
Soeharto (sic) and His Wife Visit Bali, traditional at first
glance though it is, contains an emotional violence of
imposition, where Soeharto, wearing clothes totally different
from those worn by locals, has his guards in military fatigues
standing around looking sternly vigilant.

It is heartening to see that some women artists have claimed
their place in this high-profile collection. The work of Jero
Wayan Amer Ambarie, Cokorda Istri Mas Astiti, Gusti Agung Galuh
and I Gusti Kadek Muniarsih convey messages as diverse as those
of their male counterparts, and as refreshingly different from
each other in style.

The other artists represented are from West Java, Central
Java, East Java, West Sumatra and North Sumatra. Those from Java
generally have two common points with the Balinese artists and
each other: they have moved between Bali, especially Ubud, and
Yogyakarta.

Explicitly political art is well represented; an example is
Raden Suhardi's reproduction on paper, Rendra Defying Solder,
where Rendra stands taller and straighter facing the viewer,
while the soldier, looking defeated, walks away, hunching his
shoulders.

Apart from Affandi and his daughter, Kartika Affandi, whose
work present powerful movements in color, Sindudarsono
Sudjojono's chalk, pen and ink, watercolor on paper, Sodom and
Gomorah blends Christian and Hindu myths seamlessly, as in the
forefront of the decadence and destruction is Batara Bayu, the
Hindu god of gales and wind.

The exhibition stretches your senses through strong and
powerful emotion and messages, couched in visual beauty, as well
as various contrasts. The most obvious contrast, however, is the
brown and orangey landscape of Australia as painted by Pande Gede
Supada, with most of the lush green landscapes of Bali.

The artwork, on loan from various galleries and private
owners, so carefully put together by the Asia Society Australia
Center, teases you to learn more about contemporary Indonesian
art, and hopefully, the people whom the art represents.