THE IMPACT OF CULTURAL ENCOUNTERS ON THE ART OF MELLA JAARSMA
THE IMPACT OF CULTURAL ENCOUNTERS ON THE ART OF MELLA JAARSMA
By Carla Bianpoen
JAKARTA (JP): While many historians continue to debate the
Dutch-Indonesian policies of the past, and diplomats keep busy
strengthening trade between the two countries, not many people
remember the cultural encounters that continue to take place.
The impact of this exchange is evident in the works of Mella
Jaarsma, a native of the Netherlands who has lived in Indonesia
since 1984. Her solo exhibition at the Dutch Cultural Center,
Erasmus Huis, runs from April 8 through April 22.
Twenty paintings and 27 monoprints testify to the impact
Indonesian culture has made on Jaarsma.
Her works are distinctive due to her professional skill,
including the use of advanced technologies, blended with the
ability to give traditional values contemporary significance, and
a refined sensing of what lies behind material objects.
"The process of Jaarsma's creative work is unique because it
is the output of processed personal experience and perceptions,"
said Director General of Culture Edy Sedyawati at the exhibit's
opening on April 7.
Jaarsma's early exploration of the local culture began with
sketching the squatting forms on the streets and the shadows that
seemed to dominate the island of Java. Shadows in the wayang, in
a half lit warung, but also in daylight. Jaarsma has used both to
bring her works closer to the culture in which she has decided to
spend her life.
As she became acquainted with people squatting, which revealed
the Indonesian closeness to the earth, Jaarsma started painting
in the squat position. She found that it added to the quality of
her work.
Shadows
Until this moment, she is obsessed by shadows. Shadows hover
over almost all of her work. At times it may be a silhouette or a
shade, at other times a reflection of traditional values.
"When I first came to Indonesia, I was overwhelmed by the
effect of sunlight," says Jaarsma, adding that the sun in the
northern countries has a different effect on colors. "Shadows are
everywhere, you even walk in your own shadow," she once said.
The impact of the tropical shadow on Mella Jaarsma is felt in
the way she relates it to almost all aspects of life without
differentiating between the material and the immaterial. Shadows
stand between light and dark, symbolic of life and death. For
Jaarsma, life is never-ending, because death indicates new life.
And so the life cycle with life and death as the essential
elements in human life, is a recurrent theme in the artist's
work. Her inspiration draws from such traditional ceremonies as
the burial cults in Toraja in South Sulawesi and cremation
ceremonies in Bali.
Shadows and the elements of human life continue to fascinate
this artist, whom the highly respected local painter, Nunung
W.S., says has become Indonesian.
In her more recent work, Jaarsma remains focused on life. But
contrary to her earlier works, which took the human scale as a
center, she now relates the cycle to nature. "Resin," says
Jaarsma comparing the life of a tree to that of a human being,
"circulates as does blood."
Her nature series was done in Munduk, an idyllic village in
the mountains of northern Bali. Here a sculpture of outstanding
value has been erected to be used as a place where the villagers
can cremate their dead. In the Pralina Fire Altar as it is
called, a lying human shape made of stone is the base of the
actual cremation place, a shadow, so to speak, of the upright
human shape made of wire as the gate to the altar. The Balinese
concepts of Utpeti (Birth), Setiti (Life) and Pralina (Death) are
all incorporated.
Etching
Less esoteric and more colorful are her monoprints. Here her
creative talents find a new outlet. Etching is her latest
fascination. "I love to do etching," says Jaarsma, while
explaining that the etching process itself opens new directions
for the work of art.
Vibrations at her fingertips lead to new sensations and new
dimensions. On the same plate, Jaarsma adds paint with either
brush or fingers, and completes the work with other media. "I
have to act fast, there is no chance for thinking things over, I
just let myself be guided by the vibration, inspiration and
innovation of the moment."
Some people find that knowing the conceptual background helps
them appreciate Jaarsma's paintings. But others find themselves
drawn in, inexplicably and without prior knowledge of the
direction of her work.
The number of exhibitions listed in her catalog reveals that
Jaarsma is an active artist. She has participated in Dutch,
Indonesian and international exhibitions since 1987. Her works
are on the walls of municipal offices, banks and embassies, as
well as in private houses in the Netherlands, Indonesia, Europe,
the USA, Canada and Singapore.
Born in Emmeloord in the Netherlands, Mella studied at the
Minerva Art Academy in Groningen and at the Art Institutes in
Jakarta and Yogyakarta. She is married to Indonesian painter
Ninditiyo Adipurnomo with whom she supports the development of
young Indonesian contemporary artists through displays in their
Cemeti Gallery in Yogyakarta, and through promoting a Dutch-
Indonesian artists exchange.