Wara Anindyah's paintings disclose dark revelations

Carla Bianpoen, Contributor, Jakarta

For young artist Wara Anindyah, painting is a calling that cannot and must not be ignored lest she'll be spared no peril. In her 79-page book titled Melukis Mengolah Sukma (Painting Develops the Soul) the 31-year-old artist repeatedly hints at the confusing state of her psyche as a young girl.

"Perhaps painting is an effort to walk away from the insane, or to escape suicidal forces," she said.

Her current solo exhibition, Dongeng Rembulan Jatuh (Tale of the Falling Moon), running to Dec. 8 at Bentara Budaya Jakarta, testifies to the dark undercurrents taking hold of her mental state. While her figures are meant to represent the ancient Chinese, and her themes circle around the family bond so outspoken in the Chinese tradition, there is an air of poignant gloom in the haunting faces on her large canvases.

Is this revealing the truth beyond the realities of daily life or is it profound cynicism toward the make-believe that has become an undeniable part of our society? Or, perhaps, her eerie images may just be hallucinations drawing on the legends of the ancient?

Whatever it is, one cannot elude the notion that protest and rebellion lie at the heart of her tormented mind.

Her works contain the favorite stories of the ancient Chinese, such as Dongeng Rembulan Jatuh, which allows people to make wishes and hope of a better future. But there are also scenes of daily realities when two parties in the family clash and communication is cut off, imaged in Sunyi Melepas Raga (Silent Releases the Body), in which an older man sits in the chair while some younger people in defiance stand in front of him. There are also grandparents with their grandchildren, or a couple with four children, supposedly in a happy mood, but still with faces that suggest the opposite.

Tragic and at the same time comical is the title of her painting Nyanyian Perjaka Bisu Buat Gadis Tuli (The Song of Dumb Bachelors for a Deaf Girl).

Reactions to the unconventional way of life of some of the men of letters in her environment are documented in her painting titled Sastrawan Sinting (Crazy Man of Letters). You know what they do, she explains haltingly, playing around with women, drinking, etc.

A hint at the issue of a modern woman's imago is rendered in the presentation of Istri Gelap (Mistress), where one would expect the younger woman in Western dress to be a man's logical second "hidden" wife, but the artist instead presents an old woman in traditional Chinese dress, dozing off with a cat in her arms, as the woman of a husband's resort.

And what about Wanita Terindah (The Most Beautiful Woman), featuring a reclining figure with bulging tummy, fat thighs, a ball-shaped face, a hairless head, the opposite of the ideal beauty?

Taman Terlarang (The Forbidden Garden) reminds of a woman's sanctity, stained by two scoundrels maliciously peeping, while Kembang Keluarga (The Flower of the Family) featuring a woman's face, smiling as if in desperation, is one of the most impressive paintings in the collection.

While most images conjure up a world of unreal, eerie creatures, there is the smiling face of Dewi Welas Asih (Goddess of Love) and the peaceful face in Mencari Diri Sendiri (Searching One's Identity).

Wara herself explains the search for her identity, and the blood from her ancestral grandmother that runs through her veins. Spending her youth in the center of China town in Magelang gave the impetus to go the path of the Chinese she observed during her early years.

A recent trip to China and the ancient palace grounds was an unforgettable experience. "I was so stirred, I could not make one single painting when back home," she said.

That is something very exceptional, given her continuous want of this activity.

"When I can't paint, I get cranky and moody," she revealed.

Not that she has nothing else to do, for she takes her being a mother of four and a housewife very seriously, not to speak of the numerous books she reads, the articles she writes, the hours she spends teaching.

Apparently, painting is when she can be herself, and it's then that she comes to real life.