Yogya artist Hadi Soesanto creates art out of sand

Yogya artist Hadi Soesanto creates art out of sand

By Sri Wahyuni

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Creativity seems to be an inseparable part of
an artist's character as can be seen in the works of Yogyakartan
artist Hadi Soesanto, who blends sand paintings and contemporary
frames in his works.

Unlike other painters, sand is an important element in most of
Hadi's paintings as he uses a mixture of wood glue, sand and
acrylic paint.

The painter said the use of sand in his paintings was a result
of his exploration while he was still a student at Yogyakarta's
Indonesian Institute of the Arts (ISI) in 1989.

His paintings take on various objects. Most, however, can be
found in daily activities, such as old women in Javanese
traditional costume, old men without shirts or even nude
children. He also brings, among other things, piles of bricks,
sandals, oranges and traditional water pots onto the canvas.

For many artists, a frame is just an accessory. But Hadi
treats the frame of his painting as an integral part of his work.

"The frame is just as important as the painting itself. You
cannot separate its existence from the painting," Hadi said.

In his painting titled Struggle of Life, for example, Hadi
used a the frame of a single-sized hospital brass bed to set off
his painting.

"I have a very strong memory about the bed," said Hadi,
explaining that he came up with the idea of using it as a frame
for his painting after he was treated at a hospital for two weeks
due to a respiratory problem.

In another work titled Waiting (Forever?), he combined a
conventional wooden frame in the lower part of the painting with
an iron frame in the upper part. He also uses PVC pipes as frames
for some of his works, including Tak Tahu Apa Maunya (Don't Know
What He Wants), The Last Train and United Colors of Consumerism.

Sometimes, Hadi said he painted the same objects or themes for
different paintings, such as in Waiting (Forever?). "I made some
additions to the painting, and the result was that it was entered
in the Asean Art Award VI in Kuala Lumpur," Hadi said.

His first solo exhibition at Bentara Budaya last month marked
the artist's comeback to the painting world after abandoning it
for some time because of other activities.

In the eyes of curator Dwi Marianto of ISI Yogyakarta, Hadi
did not place all the objects in their real context. "Instead, he
places them in absurd, surreal ones," Dwi said.

He took Waiting (Forever?), which won the fourth Indonesian
Art Competition (1999) and entered in the ASEAN Art Award VI in
Kuala Lumpur (2000), as an example. Dwi said the object of the
painting was a metaphoric object of a community whose people are
in long and uncertain waiting.

"This work is a description of a social condition in the
country at that time (1997-1998), when many prodemocracy
activists were kidnapped by trained and professional individuals
or groups who theoretically were supposed to protect the
community," Dwi said.

The curator also noticed that through Hadi's paintings he
showed adequate artistic sensitivity and a high skill in
representing ideas containing his personal comments or concern
over the existing political and social reality.

"He is really committed to his field and is very serious,
patient and thorough in creating his works," Dwi said.