Theater group sets up 'story exchange' in mall

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post/Yogyakarta

"Which one would you like to buy? If you want to hear my whole story as a political prisoner, I suggest that you choose those four photographs," an old man in his late 60s said as he approached a couple visiting Galeria Mall here recently.

Examining the list of "merchandise" on offer, while asking a few questions of the old man, the couple finally agreed to accept the suggestion and told the cashier on duty that they wanted to "buy" the story behind the four photographs.

After receiving the four, FX Istiadi, the old man who is a former political prisoner, then escorted his "customers" to a marble bench surrounding a decorative pool on the ground floor of the mall and asked them to sit next to him and relax.

Shortly after the man became engrossed in telling a sad tale of his life when he was a political prisoner who was exiled for 10 years to Buru island, one of Indonesia's renowned prison islands for political prisoners during the New Order Era.

He paused occasionally as his guests asked him questions, but most of the 30 minutes that the cashiers gave them were dominated by Istiadi's life story.

He was so engrossed with his own history that when he was told that the time was up for him and his guests to exchange stories, he had not yet had a chance to listen to his guests' stories.

"It's alright with me. If you want to hear more about the story of my life, you are welcome to visit me at my house," Istiadi said as he left the couple to meet other customers for the same "duty".

Istiadi was one of six players assigned that day to sell stories of their own in a theater performance titled Gardanalla Toko Cerita (Gardanalla Story Store) produced by Yogyakarta-based Gardanalla Theater.

The performance, on Sept. 29, from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. -- was part of a larger arts project named re:publik art, organized by Kedai Kebun Forum arts center, which uses public spaces for its performances.

Gardanalla Toko Cerita is a site-specific work performed in a shopping mall.

All the world's a stage

The stage for the performance was the ground floor of the mall. Only a display counter was set up in a corner of the mall where the "merchandise" was displayed.

The merchandise on offer was the daily stories belonging to the six sellers. They were represented through various personal belongings such as dolls, photographs, boxing gloves, helmets, an ashtray, CDs, cassettes, necklaces and other objects.

Some of the merchandise was also put in a transparent plastic bag that each of the sellers carried. Even the articles they wore, such as rings, a watch, or clothes, could also be bought. A catalog of the stories on offer was available at the counter.

The six story owners or vendors comprised an ex-political prisoner (Istiadi), three sales promotion girls (Indah, Febi and Susi), and a teenage heterosexual couple (Zul and Nia).

Visitors to the mall could buy a story from a seller in exchange for one of their own. When a transaction was agreed, the cashier would make note of it and establish a time frame for the exchange. He would notify the seller when the time was up.

"This is a simplified version of a much larger performance art project of ours, Gardanalla Toserba. We are still looking for the right format and time for its launch," Gardanalla Toko Cerita art director Joned Suryatmoko told The Jakarta Post.

The concept, according to Joned, was inspired by the consumption pattern of today's consumers, which, he said, had deviated further and further away from the utility principle. The same thing occurred when they watched reality TV shows.

"My question is, do they consume with empathy, or do they watch it just as a show, like other products or services that they can simply consume?" Joned, who is also Gardanalla Theater's artistic and production manager, said.

Gardanalla Toko Cerita, according to Joned, was performed to reexamine the process of consumption while, at the same time, restore the true value of telling or listening to a story.

"For a person like Pak Is (nickname of Istiadi), the more he relates the stories of his past life, the better he feels," Joned said.

Istiadi was only 26 when he was arrested in 1965, following a coup attempt attributed to the now-defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). Without knowing what wrongdoing he had committed he was sent to prison without trial.

While in prison, he was forced to sign a divorce letter and later found that his wife had been forced to marry somebody else. After being freed, he found it was very difficult for him to continue with his life and raise his children (he was reunited with his family later) with an "ET" mark on his identity card.

"ET" stands for "Ex-Tapol", which literally means ex-political prisoner. During the New Order Regime, it was difficult for people with an ET stamp to find jobs as employers, especially government institutions, would not accept them as employees.

"I come to this performance without judgment. I just want to give guidance on how critically to enjoy such a show," Joned said.

Almost all TV stations in the country now air reality shows, ranging from those that exploit inter-class relationships like Uang Kaget and Bedah Rumah to those that are developed from teenage-related problems like Playboy Kabel, Katakan Cinta and Harap-Harap Cemas.

"They raise questions in me such as, why do rich people all of a sudden come to the poor and distribute money and why have people become very attentive to teenager's problems nowadays?

"What is behind it all ?" said Joned, adding that only smart viewers would benefit from watching such shows.

As many as 49 transactions were made during the performance that day, with buyers or consumers consisting of individuals to groups of six people.