Sibarani gives caricature political nuance
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Pause and reflect, that is the response to Augustin Sibarani's political caricatures at his solo exhibition at the Galeri Milenium in South Jakarta.
Just take a look at Wasiat Baru, picturing President Megawati Soekarnoputri and husband Taufik Kiemas bowing down to receive wasiat Orde Baru (New Order legacy) from a khaki-clad Soeharto. Not funny, just a grim reminder of what seems to be going on.
"Looking at Augustin Sibarani's work is like being in a dialog with a political expert, who is analyzing the government's deceptions," Galeri Milenium curator Yulianto Liestiono writes in the exhibition catalog.
Sibarani, 77, has been part of the Indonesian arts scene since the days of Sukarno, his sharp political caricatures often being censored during the 32 years of Soeharto's reign.
Initially a portrait painter -- Sibarani was the painter behind the reconstruction of the image of Sisingamangaraja XII, who died in the early 20th century -- he began drawing caricatures at the age of 25, and his earliest works were published in the Merdeka daily.
Sibarani's cartoons were regularly published in the Bintang Timur daily starting in 1957, until the paper shut down in 1965. His work has also appeared in various other newspapers and magazines at home and abroad, including Aneka magazine, The Jakarta Post, Le Monde Diplomatique, Humanite, La Lettrede and in Cornell University's Indonesia Journal.
A collection of his cartoons from Aneka was published under the title Senyum, Kasih, Senyum (Smile, Love, Smile) in the 1950s, and more recently under the title Karikatur dan Politik (Caricature and Politics) in 2001.
The exhibition at Galeri Milenium, Menafsir Kemerdekaan (Interpreting Independence), showcases 43 of Sibarani's drawings since 1997, all with the themes of corruption or George W. Bush's war against terror.
In 1997's Penyakit terlalu parah (The illness is too serious), Sibarani draws economists Saleh Afif, Sumitro Djojohadikusumo, Mar'ie Muhammad and Sudradjat Djiwandono dressed as doctors, trying to cure bandaged and bloody "patients" with names such as Korupsi (corruption), Kolusi (collusion), Nepotisme (nepotism) and Keserakahan (greed).
Yang lolos dan dibasmi (Those who escaped and eliminated) shows plump figures in suits getting away with their bags of money, while skinny chicken thieves are arrested by the police.
"In (Sibarani's) caricatures, we may feel like those who are being laughed at, ridiculed and 'spit on' by Sibarani, because in the cartoons we may feel akin to the characters being portrayed," Yulianto said.
We can recognize former Indonesian foreign minister Ali Alatas and the bearded Uncle Sam fighting it out on a "HAM" (acronym for human rights) chessboard in Diplomasi catur lawan Pak Jenggot (Chess diplomacy with Mr. Beard), probably over the East Timor issue.
Sibarani's view of U.S. President George W. Bush's war on terror produced Jago-jago tembak sarang lebah (Aiming at a bee's nest), which shows Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair in warplanes firing at a bee's nest representing Afghanistan.
In Pembantaian Iraq (Iraq massacre), Bush is pictured mowing down Iraqis with a machine gun, ignoring the Pope who is trying to stop him.
Menafsir Kemerdekaan will run until Aug. 31 at Galeri Milenium, Kompleks Pertokoan D'Best (Diamond Plaza), Blok B23, Jl. R.S. Fatmawati No. 15, South Jakarta. The exhibition is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information call 021-7507828.