Entering the art space, guests are welcomed with eight glass-covered tables filled with his early drafts, manuscripts, diagrams, books, scribbles and sketches. The exhibition also features the poet’s personal documentations, such as tools that he used while writing, sketching and reading. There are also personal objects, including seashells and bracelets. “Those are the objects I see every day, [that are] close to me. There's also a white marble stone which I brought from Greece,” he told The Jakarta Post by phone, adding that he only had three days to set up the display.

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Entering the art space, guests are welcomed with eight glass-covered tables filled with his first drafts, manuscripts, diagrams, books, scribbles and sketches.(JP/Ni Nyoman Wira)

There are large scrolls on the walls, largely created by Nirwan himself in response to the venue’s ambiance. They contain writings from Satu Setengah Mata-Mata and poems that were read out at the book’s launching event on Thursday.

“I want to show my manuscripts that are related with my experiences of writing both literature and art,” Nirwan said. “Aside of experimenting, I also want to show that text is actually very interesting [an object] to be exhibited; not only in its original form such as handwriting and scribbles, but also text that is rewritten in order to be viewed as text, read or enjoyed as a form of fine art.”

Dubbed Archival Exhibition and running until Sept. 11, the event showcases behind-the-scenes works related to Nirwan’s latest book, Satu Setengah Mata-Mata.(JP/Ni Nyoman Wira)

Following the release of Satu Setengah Mata-Mata, Nirwan plans to release the second and third book to complete the trilogy. “The first book talks about art, the second will be about literature and the last one will be about performing arts,” he said.

As for his exhibition plans, Nirwan said there had been requests to hold similar events in other cities. “But it will be site-specific; very responsive to the space. I will adapt to the space, and the exhibition will be different to the one in Jakarta,” he said. “But it will have the same point: I want to show my 'kitchen' and that writing is a physical activity in which the process itself is interesting, not merely for the purpose of creating printed matters.” (kes)

There are large scrolls on the walls, largely created by Nirwan himself as his way of responding to the venue’s ambiance.(JP/Ni Nyoman Wira)