Tommy's works show little things mean a lot

Andy Prabowo, Contributor, Jakarta

When you walk into Tommy Tanggara's first solo show, you will be struck by one big difference from your average Jakarta art event.

There's a simplicity and peacefulness to the works in the exhibition, The Evolution of Form, that are a relief to the senses. They are neither figurative nor decorative -- there is not a recognizably Indonesian symbol in sight. Instead, most of the canvases look, from a distance, to be plain textured fields of color.

Then you look closer, and see that each painting has a small feature or drawing within it that draws the eye. As you walk from painting to painting, each one takes you by surprise, and each has a meaning that springs from the minutiae, like a flower from a bud.

"All living things begin small. We all get so busy pursuing big things in life that we forget the small. I hope my paintings remind people that small is beautiful too," said Tommy at his show at the Japan Foundation in South Jakarta.

Now in his mid-30s, Tommy began painting at 16 and studied at the Middle School of Art, then the Indonesian Art Institute, both in Yogyakarta. He's a prolific painter, with thirteen exhibitions to his name, including one last year in Japan.

This set of paintings, being all contemporary minimalist, is something of an evolution for him from his previous, busier work. Tommy's minimalism is not of the "my-child-could-have-painted- that" mode, but rather shows a delicate touch that seeks the essential purity in simplicity.

"I moved toward minimalism to rebel against the current art scene in Indonesia," said Tommy.

"So many people in Indonesia seek 'the maximum'. They want big fancy cars and extravagant lifestyles. Artists too sometimes use everything available -- every color, multitudes of symbols and every technique under the sun. I want to show an artwork doesn't need to be 'big' in any sense to have meaning... to show something. Minimalist paintings may not 'say' many things, but what you do say has a simple purity with its own appeal."

The best example of this is perhaps the painting Time Out. It's about the time Tommy suddenly found himself bored with his own work and that of other artists, especially in Yogyakarta.

"My reaction was not to do 'more', but to push all objects out of the canvas - only three orange lines with black shadows stayed, and they look they'd like to leave the canvas too!"

The exhibition's title, The Evolution of Form, is taken from Darwin's theory about physical advancement, but Tommy is not just interested in physical evolution, but also the evolving inner life of all living creatures, including plants, which he believes have inner lives too.

He experimented with pot plants in the past, caring for one and being 'cruel' to another by flicking and hitting it. In his experience, plants that are 'mistreated' in this way die. As a result, in The Soul of Plants he traces the veins within plants in multiple bright colors to bring their inner lives to the fore.

Borderlines shows a small representation of a human form opposite long stipe of printed collage, symbolizing the borders that control almost everything in life -- including artists, he believes.

"One can try to cross these borders in whatever walk of life, but if you try to cross before the time is right, there is a high risk attached to trying to break free: maybe even your death, professional or actual," said Tommy.

Ranks without Leader displays a largely empty canvas, too, except for a number of simple shapes in two rows, representing the community he believes would be better off living without controlling leaders.

Then there is Love in a White Sea, with abstract, Paul Klee- like male and female figures, encircled by a white rope that binds them in the purity of love.

What does he hope for in future? Tommy has little ambition for popularity or money, although some of the works are for sale.

"To be famous or not... that's up to God. I don't want to be rich, but I'd like people to appreciate my paintings. Perhaps, someday, they'll hang in a museum. That's ambition enough. "

Evolution of Form

Japan Foundation, Summitmas 1, Jl. Jend. Sudirman Kav. 61-61, South Jakarta.

10 a.m.- 6pm, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Until June 9