Yogyakarta's artist takes potshots at society's villains

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.