Sulistyo's search for self in a world of chaos

Sulistyo's search for self in a world of chaos

Carla Bianpoen, Contributor, Jakarta

Eddy Sulistyo's intriguing works in the CP Open Biennale call for
closer scrutiny. Executed in pencil, ink and oil on canvas, he
reveals an overwhelming confusion in a world where standard norms
and values increasingly make way for new patterns of life.

When the feminine is more prominent in a man, or the masculine
dominates in a woman, it is confusing for the person in question.
Sulistyo says his painting Confession (200 x 150 cm) describes
the process of a person's search for self.

In Sulistyo's human figure, the level of uncertainty is
tangible. A foot in an upside-down position is in the place of
the head, while the head is positioned as the feet. If one
initially assumes this is a female figure, given the breasts and
the right hand, then the strong, masculine body, the legs, a
dagger cramped in the left male fist as well as the male genitals
denote otherwise.

One thigh is covered with the beautiful features of female
faces, while the other thigh shows fierce male visages.

This ambivalent figure is painted against a background of
white clouds, fish and water lilies, from which the contours of a
figure emerge. Could it be that the kneeling figure, the serene
face and the hands folded denote the end of the search, a stage
when the person has ultimately decided on his identity?

Confession is not only about the issue of gender identity. In
fact, the artist admits to a lot of questions, including some
teachings of religion, the meaning of balance in life, what is
good and evil, right and wrong, black and white.

Sulistyo, a 26-year-old student at the Yogyakarta Institute of
the Arts, has been surrounded by art since he was a little boy as
his father made batik paintings popular with tourists.

Self-taught, his artistic skills improved as he helped his
father, including in meeting such unusual requests as recreating
a Dali work.

He did not know to paint with oils then, or on canvas, before
entering arts school. Once a friend of his father's brought him
some oil and poster paint, which began running because he used
paper, he remembered.

A participant of several joint exhibitions, he has had just
one solo exhibition. Being selected from over 600 applications
for the CP Open Biennale is an experience he will not easily
forget.

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