Tasmanian ceramics display, from Padang to Surabaya
Tasmanian ceramics display, from Padang to Surabaya
By R. Fadjri
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Australia is a unique continent. Its
isolation symbolizes its uncertain relations between East and
West. When throngs of immigrants arrived from Europe, it took
them a long time to mold an identity, at least compared to their
counterparts in America.
The proximity of America to Europe may have helped form a
rather homogeneous culture, while immigrants to Australia may
have missed their faraway lands much more. Matters became even
more complex given their neighborly relations with the East.
Ambiguity is the result. Australians reflect an endless
conflict between preserving European romanticism with the reality
of their geographical proximity to the East. One sign is many
Australians' apparent resentment towards Prime Minister Paul
Keating who expresses a friendly attitude towards the East. His
critics, however, are well aware of Australia's need to relate
well with Asia.
This ambiguity is expressed in an interesting way in the arts,
as reflected by the exhibition of ceramic art from Tasmania in
Yogyakarta. The display, held from Jan. 26 to Jan. 31 at the
Bentara Budaya, has been shown in Padang in West Sumatra and
Bandung in West Java. It will continue in Surabaya in East Java
on Feb. 6 to 11.
The 18 ceramic vases are largely void of any Asian influence.
The artists' roots and modernism feature prominently and the
works of two ceramic artists reflect a contemporary spirit.
In the display catalog, artist Vincent McGrath says Australian
ceramic artists do not like Asian esthetics. Instead, their
designs follow modern techniques.
The "Porcelain Bowls" by Les Blakebrough present the finery
and elegance of European taste in porcelain. The 65-year-old
artist explores the inner and outer surface of his work in
elaborate techniques. He makes the inner surface fine and shiny
white and covers the outside in light blue with regular and
repetitive conventional decorations, which are assisted with the
effect of light.
Les Blakebrough also uses nitrate and chloride as coloring, a
method he has studied since 1991.
In a similar vein, Zsolt Faludi presents abstract forms of
containers in porcelain, as if the trophy-like works are
metaphors with minimum symbols.
There are traces of the traditional in the works of Robert
Ikim, 55, which he calls "Boat Form" and "Box with spice". Ikim
molds clay into boat shapes in a curve, and carves triangles,
squares and circles on both sides.
A modern touch is eye-catching in the works of Chantale
Delrue, Penny Smith and Derek Smith. Delrue, who is originally
from Belgium, molds triangle-shaped vases which are treated as
canvasses.
Objects like birds, leaves, women and churches appear in a
realistic style in cheerful colors on all sides of the container.
Penny Smith fashions clay into functional items such as a
triangle-shaped teapot with an expressive handle. She then glazes
the texture with dots, similar to an animal hide.
Artists Lorraine Jenyns and Vincent McGrath go against the
conventions of modern fine arts. Jenyns, who teaches at the
Tasmania School of Art, forms associations of a clump of trees
from cup shapes. Its greenery circles the cups as the branches
follow the curves of the cups all the way down the trees.
McGrath treads even further into the free realm as he shapes
the uneven surface of his containers. A dynamic force ending with
a clash seems to result in these irregular forms colored in
white, black and red.
The works of Jenyns, McGrath, Ikim and Delrue show an intimate
relation between planet and earth. The works convey the smell of
earth, flowers and animals, as if to remind that misuse of the
land will bring a worthless inheritance to the next generation.
The arts may be an effective way to channel social, economic
and political matters. Politics only reflect the winner and the
loser, as economics pictures profit and loss. But arts always
functions as a bridge between the differences in a community and
paves the way for a more honest dialog. Here lies the importance
of this exhibition in Indonesia and in other Asian countries. It
may also be the mystery of the arts.