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.