Halimun : Removing the mist over art

(News Terupdate) - The awe-inspiring gate designed by architect Sarah Ginting, which rises up in the entrance to Lawangwangi Science and Art Estate on a hilltop overlooking Bandung, denotes the futuristic views of Lawangwangi founder Dr. Andonowati.

The doctor believes that scientists and artists share the same urge to explore, examine and create.

Thus, the conservative style of the building housing the art space and LabMath likely indicates the firm basis on which imaginations prosper and come to fruition.

In this sense, the inaugural exhibition, which explores the various developments in Indonesian contemporary art, is fitting, though the title “Halimun” (“The Mist” in Sundanese) given by curator Rifky Effendy, suggests that power, money and greed have blocked the clarity in judging art works.

What strikes one first is the absence of the usual large canvases with pop or cartoon-like images that have for some time dominated the creations of artists. Instead there is a sense of genuine effort in the works on display.

A number of the 46 artists participating in the exhibition have reached a level of recognized seniority.

Teguh Ostenrik and Mella Jaarsma brought commissioned works. Others like Tisna Sanjaya and the Tromarama Group of Video Art are widely renowned, with Tromarama featuring in the second Singapore Biennale.

Almost all artists have participated in recent joint exhibitions in Jakarta, some individual artists, who in Lawangwangi appear to belong to a certain art group, such as the restArt group of Bandung-based artists, and the slightly older Abstra X group comprising five artists, or the Taxu group from Bali.

Ceramics, photography, photo-realism, drawing and painting, objects and installations, and video works, are all represented in the “Halimun” exhibition.

But most striking is how craft is well represented as a form of contemporary art, and even more remarkable is the phenomenon of male artists taking over the so-called “feminine” work of sewing and embroidery.

While such a trend has been evident in scattered exhibitions before, at Lawangwangi they are conspicuous. This is particularly evident in works by John Martono (b. 1972) and Erik Pauhrizi (b. 1981), while the same can be said of the woven rug by Tinton Satrio (b. 1982).

John Martono is a fiber artist who lectures at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), and the Swedish School of Textiles at Boras University.

His work Our Love in this exhibition shows a combination of painting and embroidery, but so fine are his threads, that from a distance the work appears like a painting, the borders between painting and embroidery invisible to the naked eye. Upon closer examination, his fine colored threads bestow an important accent to the semi-abstract images on silk.

Erik Pauhrizi who is currently pursuing his studies in Germany, earlier used embroidery for his images on canvas, but it seems his work Individuelle Mythologien shows a more refined execution, while Tinton Satrio’s piece featuring a black skull on a synthetic rug is combined with polypropylene.

There is also Nadya Savitri (b. 1981)’s work Last (part of a book series). Made of porcelain, the work features an intriguing imprint of guns over which a map of the Indonesian archipelago is drawn in cobalt blue.

While various exhibitions have shown that the art-loving public has become more critical when purchasing contemporary art works, this exhibition is the largest of this kind.

Exhibitions are just one part of Lawangwangi’s all-encompassing scheme for the development of art and science.

For Andonowati, an associate professor at the school of Mathematics and Natural Sciences of the Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia, and also a passionate art lover, art and science are mentioned in one breath.

Her fascination with ocean waves and water matches her passion for the arts, and linking both has been another one of her passions.

Just as facilities for research and production of research output like scientific papers and results are followed by commercial projects developed through incubators and spin-offs, similarly, artist studios being built in the vicinity of Lawangwangi building, will be like research labs where artists explore and experiment to create works that will eventually be sold.

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