'Wearable' show promotes Asia Pacific artists

'Wearable' show promotes Asia Pacific artists

By Chandra Johan

JAKARTA (JP): In a country where law and justice are not
upheld, people feel unsafe and uncomfortable. As they can no
longer count on the security apparatus, they make every effort to
protect themselves in a variety of ways. Those who have money buy
pistols or other guns. More women take self-defense classes or
even wear the controversial anti-rape corset created by a Bandung
engineer.

Last May, when anti-Chinese riots rocked the city, some people
wrote on the walls of their houses or shops: Indigenous Property,
Muslim Property, The Property of Haj So and So, or
Proreformation. Others affixed prayer mats or wrote Koran verses
on the buildings. It might seem absurd, but in fact, the texts
and signs were used as a form of protection. Why must military
troops, the police, civilian security officers, or even political
party security members wear certain uniforms identified by
special colors? We could see the uniforms as a means to protect
themselves. However, in the public's subconscious, a military
uniform provokes fear and nervousness when spotted.

In contemporary art, the meaning of signs in every object is
part of what is explored, as opposed to the shape or "intrinsic"
beauty of a piece. Everything we wear, whether it is a hat, a
shirt, trousers, shoes and so on, has a certain meaning and
value.

These meanings and values are explored by a number of
contemporary artists from the Asia Pacific region in a touring
exhibition with the theme Wearable. The first exhibition, held in
Galeri Padi, Bandung, finished earlier this month. It will move
on to Bentara Budaya, Yogyakarta, and later in the year come to
Jakarta.

According to the curator of the exhibition Rifky Effendi,
Wearable had its genesis in November 1998. He talked to the
artists in person, by phone, fax or e-mail. Rifky says the
project will last until the year 2000 or 2001 and may later tour
overseas.

Wearable was created from recent observations and experiences
on Indonesian social life. Wearable literally means "something
which can be worn" for comfort, beauty, and, at the same time,
safety. In society this term is associated with the discourse of
fashion. "But, according to my interpretation this term is
associated with values of protection, self-confidence and
self-identity," Rifki Effendi said. In other words, because it
possesses value, it can be worn according to the context.

Participating in the exhibition are Astari Rasjid, Gani
Ruswandi, W. Christiawan, Mella Jaarsma and Alexandra J. Wuisan
(all from Indonesia), Damon Moon (Australia), Midora Hirota
(Japan), France Alleblas (Holland), Mongkol Pilengbangchang
(Thailand), Minako Saitoh (Japan), David Sequeira (Australia) and
Choi Jeong-Hwa and Hyesung Park (South Korea).

Astari Rasjid presents an installation work Pseudo-Security.
This work explores the kebaya dress (women's blouse, the front of
which is pinned together) and its attributes in Javanese feudal
society. The piece triggers the question whether clothes define
our body and self-identity, but at the same time hide our true
self. According to Astari's interpretation, the kebaya phenomenon
in Javanese society is still apparent: every uniform in society
covers up identity.

Damon Mood from Australia presents the installation Peci
Stack: a pile of peci (national cap) in the form of a pyramid.
For Damon, a peci is a neutral object -- an Indonesian
characteristic, not an ethnic attribute. The pyramid form depicts
a bad social system, in which most people -- represented by the
lower section -- bear burdens, while at the very top, a small
number of people lead an easy life all the time.

Hi, Inlander, an installation by Mella Jaarsma, invites us to
consider the meaning of "indigenousness". (Inlander is the term
used by the Dutch colonialists for indigenous people.) The artist
has covered a doll with the skin of a frog, to question the
government's policies regarding "swike eaters". Swike are Chinese
frog dishes. Clearly, the artist is referring to swike eaters as
the Chinese-Indonesians.

David Sequeira from Australia combines an Indonesian
traditional dress design with the camouflage gear of the military
in Inside Out. Adorning Indonesian traditional clothes with
military designs, David semiotically refers to the bureaucratic
feudalism and power, present in all facets of Indonesian life,
including art and culture.

Alexandra J. Wuisan presents a paper torso titled infinity. It
takes the shape of a dress, but without any sewing and without
any attributes to indicate social meaning. With infinity, he
suggest that a dress that has not been sewn, has superior meaning
as a dress, not as a symbol, and therefore can exist in an
infinite situation, space and time.

In addition to installations, photography, drawings and
paintings are also on show.

It is interesting to see Ruswandi Abdul Gani's Aesthetic's
Body, Body's Aesthetic, a photography work of a row of figures
making various gestures. Body painting becomes a new
representation. We are invited not merely to consider the beauty
of the body, but also the painting of the body, or the
arrangement of this in his photos. In his work we also face
semantic problems.

Mongkol Pilenbangchang presents a mixed-media installation art
work in Bloody Flag and asks us some basic questions: where has
democracy gone? Where have all the victims gone? What do we live
for? What do we die for? Such quandaries are not only raised in
Mongkol's work, they are also presented by Minako Saitoh in
Behind the Mood, Frances Alleblas in Reunion, W. Christiawan in
Get well soon, Indonesia and in Choi Jeoung's video-installation
on Korean culture. Gender questions are posed in Astari's work
and Hyesung Park's.

The Wearable project offers an interesting discourse on the
Indonesian motif in contemporary art.