Yogyakarta's artist takes potshots at society's villains

By Susi Andrini

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Have you ever seen paddy grow on a mattress? Never? But you can see it at Cemeti Art House in Yogyakarta.

Here the viewer will see and capture the restlessness of an artist called Edi Prabandono, 35, in an exhibit of his mixed media installation works which center on current affairs.

The five works in the exhibition, which runs until Oct. 24, are derived from Edi's thoughts on bringing together mixed media which can give an interpretation of fresh and critical understanding. He makes use of the objects available and pours his ideas into them so that they become works to make people aware of social criticism and the belittlement of humanity.

The gaze of viewers will become fixed on a mattress in the center of the exhibition room. Grains of unhusked rice were scattered on the mattress and paddy grew. A simple but philosophically meaningful concept, this work is called Memberi Tempat (Providing Room). Edi said that he was inspired by the early months of the monetary crisis in Indonesia, a time when prices of daily necessities skyrocketed. He wondered why Indonesia, declaring itself to be an agrarian country, was still forced to import rice.

The paddy growing on the mattress indicates the fertility of our country and that more plots of land should be opened up for rice fields.

In his other work, Edi queries why the size of agricultural land is shrinking. Why have only factories been built for industrial purposes? Edi asks these questions in the work Membongkar Pabrik Membangun Sawah (Dismantling Factories, Building Rice fields). The impression is that during the New Order, buildings and factories were put up for show value only.

They are a symbol of the rulers' arrogance and avarice. These are people who are concerned only with themselves and do not heed the sufferings of the little people. They appropriate plots of land designated for residences, agriculture and green belts. To visualize all of this, Edi creates the work out of wooden pieces made to resemble the roofs of factories. The walls are covered with gunny sacks on which unhusked rice is scattered. On the same walls, green paddy has also begun to sprout; Edi never forgets to water his paddy morning and night.

On the other side of Edi's work, there is a pig's head which has been preserved in formaldehyde. This head is covered in water in an aquarium. The aquarium is draped in a round mosquito net hung on the plasterboard of the ceiling. To see the preserved pig's head clearly, one has to lift up the mosquito net.

Why the mosquito net?

"A mosquito net symbolizes something soft and refined," Edi said. "It will make what is inside it looks vague. Only when the net is removed can rottenness come into view."

The pig's head is a satirical symbol for the cronies of the New Order in the work called Mr Begundal (Mr Henchman). The connotation is that a henchman is an accomplice of a criminal.

Edi expresses protests in his works fraught with satire and cynicism. Edi, also known as "Edi Gimbal" because of his tangled hair, said: "The most important thing is that the idea and the concept are there so that anytime we are ready we can create something."

Rifling through his tangled hair, he said he prepared the works only two weeks before it opened. "This is called rasta and I no longer use a comb," he said of his hair. He said he had achieved his look by not combing his hair since 1993. His hair became tangled after he bathed at Parangtritis Beach and was afflicted with a skin disease. He said he was more confident in his appearance today, which he calls "exotic".

Edi is always full of enthusiasm and finds time to exhibit his work not only in Yogyakarta and Surakarta, but also in Bali and as far away as Japan. He has exhibited since 1993.

Last year he went to Japan for three months at the invitation of the Japan Foundation.

Edi, who is still studying at the Indonesian Institute of Arts (ISI) Yogyakarta, is now an apprentice in a family owned company in Semarang.

"To get involved in the arts I need money. I have just started my career in arts so I have to work in order that I may continue to involve myself in the arts," he said seriously.

He was previously enrolled in the School of Fine Arts of the Bandung Institute of Technology and the Landscaping Interior and Design School in Semarang.

In another work, there are three glass jars containing water and cow's brains. The jars are shut tightly; the work, in what many viewers may find an ironic title, is called Menjaga Otak Sehat (Keeping Healthy Brains).

"Our brains must be kept. A healthy mind must always be maintained. Otherwise people will have bad ideas, think about corruption, collusion and nepotism and also about other harmful ideas."

Despite Edi's comments, viewers may choose to interpret the work differently. The brains inside the jars are shackled. They are narrow-minded and are not resourceful because they are not free. These are damaged brains, separated from the body and the soul. When action has to be taken there is no need for a compromise with the conscience of a human being.

Hand Made is the last of all the works exhibited. The item is placed at the edge of a wall. Seven round pieces of wood measuring 15 cm in diameter respectively are covered with the cloth used to make green berets of soldiers and illustrated with pieces of human bodies: hands, severed heads, skulls, ears, legs and torsos. Pictures of roses in red, yellow and white are dabbed on the pieces as symbols of mourning.

"These pictures are those of the victims of what soldiers in Aceh have done toward civilians. People are silenced and stoned to death and women are tortured and raped," Edi said.

After completing his exhibition in Yogyakarta, Edi will have an exhibition in Jakarta at the invitation of the Japan Foundation.

"In Jakarta I will also exhibit my drawings, besides my installation works," he said.