Unique fiber art on display

Unique fiber art on display

Asikin Hasan, Contributor, Jakarta

Fiber artist Biranul Anas, 54, is staging a solo exhibition
for the first time at the Edwin Gallery, Jakarta, from Nov. 1 to
Nov. 11. It is a very rare and interesting event for the arts in
Indonesia, which has been strongly dominated by painting
exhibitions and its target market.

Fiber art is closely related to its primary media, such as all
elements derived from fibers, both factory-made varieties like
thread, rope, acrylic and fiber glass, as well as basic fibers
originating from nature: bark, stems and so forth.

Using fibers for art has a long tradition among various ethnic
groups and races around the world. Tapestry, for instance, has
been around in Europe for centuries, where it has been used to
warm up interiors.

Fiber art was once considered equal to "kitsch", lowly items
without emotional or moral content, and was therefore not
regarded as art. But times have changed and the way people
perceive art has changed as well.

By staging the exhibition, Anas wants to emphasize his
viewpoint on contemporary art: a new awareness in viewing today's
realities.

He presents 37 works, which are mostly mixed media pieces
created using weaving. Most of his colorful creations are in a
vertical format and are strongly imbued with freshness and
merriment, while several are glossy and shiny, incorporating
beads and gold.

As the majority of his works tend to be abstract, it is
difficult to identify the meaning unless one reads the title
underneath, such as: Maghrib di Agra II (Sunset praying time at
Agra II) (2000), Sekitar Padalarang (Around Padalarang) (2001),
Taman Putih (White Garden) (1999) and Piano I, II and III (2000).

If the titles were hidden, people could appreciate the
tidiness, harmony, rhythm and contrast in his compositions.

The only forms one can understand as representing the elements
of nature are the circles for the moon and the many-angled forms
for the stars, as can be found in Tiga Purnama (Three full moons)
(1998) and Bintang di atas Taman II (Stars over the Garden II)
(2001). The rest are cracks and splinters that obviously
represent mountains, boxes, half circles and so forth.

Apart from being abstract, Anas tends to make various
associations through hidden messages in his titles. As can be
seen in three of his works - all with the same measurements, 65
by 80 centimeters, displayed in a row - titled: Subuh (Daybreak
prayers), Maghrib (Sunset prayers) and Isya (Evening prayers).

The three works contain irregular images with grades of bright
hues of blue, white, red, yellow, dark blue and black. In
contrast, triangles and quadrangles appear in the middle. His
works are infused with strength and his balanced consideration
for harmony, rhythm and the right emphasis of bright and dark
colors as the center of attention.

Using media on woven materials - which were produced in 2001 -
they seem to suggest the change of day into night or the
traveling of light into darkness. One can further continue the
associations with the contrasts of righteousness and wrongdoing,
life and death and the like.

In some of his works, Anas endeavors to abandon the normal
tapestry tradition by deleting horizontal weaving, so that the
final result looks transparent, similar to a net. Roto, measuring
200 by 60 by 300 centimeters, is the only one of his creations
hung from the gallery's ceilings.

From the entire exhibition, one still gets the impression that
Anas has not yet been able to free himself completely from
traditional painting techniques.

This is particularly evident in Gunung Mas (Golden Mountain)
(2001), a 150 by 150 centimeter piece, made of mixed media on
woven material.

Here Anas uses not only factory-made and natural fibers, but
also piles it up with pieces of wood covered with 24 carat gold
plates, which brings to mind the painting style of Ahmad Sadali
more than it does an experiment in rebelling against the
established tapestry tradition. Its abstract images also stress
the fact that Anas is strongly attached to the spirit of
geometry, which in the past was the signature of Bandung's
painters.

Compared with today's trends, Anas's works can be categorized
as being neat and orderly. Though he has explored the medium to a
certain extent, he is yet to jolt us with surprises, just like a
painter does when he breaks away from the familiar canvas norms.
Anas seems to make less than maximum use of the element of
surprise, which actually is possible through his works.

Concerning materials, Anas is still immersed in threads and
other similar types of materials. He has not attempted to use a
harder material, say fiber glass, which would enable him to place
his creations not only on the walls, but also on the floor and
arranged creatively in more than one way. Like an installation
piece, perhaps.