Singaporean, RI artists blend in fusion

Tarko Sudiarno, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

"Will I get an all out service?" asked a woman. "I would like to have a massage but I'll have to wait until my husband is assigned out of town. I'll get in touch with you a few days later."

"Can I see you in person? If it is okay with you, let's meet at the Pos Kota daily (newspaper) office."

These were calls that Yogyakartan artist Iwan Wijono received recently. The calls rushed in after he placed an ad in a local paper as a masseur for women and men. In the ad, he did not mention his real name and identity, only his cell phone number.

The ad was not placed for fun but as part of his art work.

From Jan. 20 to Feb. 20 this year, he and 24 artists from Singapore and Indonesia will organize Fusion Strength Performance Installation Exhibition in Benda Arts Space, Yogyakarta; Langgeng Gallery in Magelang, Central Java; and Puri Art Gallery in Malang, East Java.

Fusion Strength itself is a art project in the form of performances and installation works carried out in groups. The project was inspired by a similar undertaking by Singaporean artists titled Plastique Kinetic Worms in Singapore in 2001.

In concept, Fusion Strength is basically an art practice conducted through a process of collaboration and intervention, cooperation and mutual responses.

Each artist involved in this project will take part in the working process. It means there will only be one work created by all participating artists. But through the time, the piece will go through a changing process.

"During the one-month exhibition, the only work exhibited can change at any time. All these changes will be documented so the audience can follow each participating artist's process of interaction and intervention," said Titarubi, the organizer and also curator from Indonesia, told reporters on Tuesday.

The curator from Singapore, Juliana Yasin, said the project would be developed as a touring exhibition project to boost cooperation among local, regional and international artists from one country to another.

"Fusion Strength itself is intended to bring together the concept of collaborative art practices by blending cultural discrepancies. It is expected the output of this art project may be useful and valuable to expand relations between Indonesia and Singapore based on cultural understanding," she said.

Apart from displaying the main Fusion Strength project at Benda Art Space, the organizer will also display individual works of each participating artists to provide background of their styles at Langgeng Gallery and Puri Art Gallery.

The participating artists are divided into six groups, three from each country.

Indonesian artists include Arahmaiani, Arya Panjalu, Geber Modus Operandi, Handiwirman, Irene Agrivia, Iwan Wijono, Jompet, Marzuki, Caroline Rika, Regina Bimadona and S Teddy. Singaporean artists include Agnes Yit, Benjamin Puah, Colin Reaney, Jeremy Hiah, Karee Dahl, Khairuddin Hori, Kai Lam Hoi Lit, Lina Adam, Rizman Putra, Tang Da Wu and Woon Tien Wei.

The first group will kick off the collaborative exhibition by initiating and express the basic idea for the art work.

"We have been entrusted to lay the basic idea of the project and we have received Rp 1.5 million from the organizing committee for this purpose. We have split this money into four and each of us will work to multiply the amount," said Arahmaiani of the first group.

With the money, she said, each of them would attempt to increase the amount their own way. Iwan Wijono, for instance, has tried to provide massage services while Marzuki spent the money on gambling and Jompet has tried to offer karaoke entertainment, from one place to another on his bike.

"This week we start working ... but we will present our ideas and experiences in the form of installation work later, on Jan. 20," said Arahmaiani. "We hope our Singaporean friends may respond to our works based on their own cultural background and eventually express their intervention."

As planned, once the work by the first group is displayed, other groups, one by one, will be given the opportunity to intervene and respond to the work.