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Jemek Supardi: Staying true to his artistic choices
JEMEK SUPARDI: (JP/P
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JEMEK SUPARDI: (JP/P.J Leo)
Having been a prominent mime artist for decades, Jemek Supardi now wants to take time out from clowning around to seriously reflect on his life and work.
"Now that I am 55 years old, I have to reflect on my life. Life should not just be for fun ... I get bored and take pity on my family.
"Now I have to be selective in choosing which art performances I attend. I will not attend any show that is not serious," said Jemek after watching a recent Korean dance performance at the workshop of the late dancer Bagong Kussudiardja in Yogyakarta.
Jemek admitted that he had not been really serious before, but that it was time for him to lead a better life.
"I've been there, done that. It's all in the past. Now I have to follow my heart," he said.
Being a pantomime artist has helped open his eyes and heart, he said, and has let him enrich his professional life through various experiences.
As rich in artistic experience Jemek may be, he remains financially poor. However, he is determined to keep following his own path and not become a "prostitute" in his profession.
His new determination was laid bare in his latest show, Eyes of the Heart, which was recently staged at the Yogyakarta Cultural Center.
The show reflects his seriousness as a pantomime artist, a rare profession in Indonesia.
His persistence is reflected in his determination to dedicate his life to pantomime, even though it offers little in the way of monetary rewards.
"My life is always like this," he said when asked why he chose to dedicate his life to pantomime.
Jemek describes his daily life -- hanging around with friends at cultural centers, sipping tea at the Pasar Kembang red-light district and loitering at crossroads with ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers. All for the sake of learning and digging out fresh, creative ideas for his performances.
Life took a bad twist for him recently, when he had to become a real ojek driver to make money for his family.
His wife, Threda Mairayanti, said she came up with the idea after Jemek frittered away some money set aside to pay her medical expenses.
"I was very upset and I told him to become an ojek driver. Actually I felt sorry for him, but he should learn his lesson," she said.
"I am used to his attitude, so I don't find it a big deal. I still love him ... he remains faithful and patient."
As an artist, Jemek is known for being "naughty" and creative, as well as funny. His stage shows often explore different social problems.
Among his past performances are Sketsa-sketsa Kecil (Tiny Sketches, 1979), Dokter Bedah (The Surgeon, 1981), Perjalanan Hidup Dalam Gerak (Journey of Life in Movements 1982), Balada Tukang Becak (A Pedicab Driver's Ballad, 1988), Termakan Imajinasi (Carried Away by Imagination, 1995), Badut-badut Republik, atau Badut-badut Politik, (Clowns of the Republic or Political Clowns 1998), Topeng-topeng (The Masks, 2002) and Air Mata Sang Budha (Buddha's Tears, 2007).
Some of his performances have been more spontaneous affairs, such as when he performed aboard the night train from Yogyakarta to Jakarta in 1998, or when he protested against the Yogyakarta Arts Festival in 1997.
Jemek was once arrested for performing in public without a permit. He answered the police's questions with gestures and expressions -- speaking no words, using only body language to communicate with the angry officers.
"At that time my friends said, *If it is like this, who is the crazy one?' It was tense but funny. The officers did not want to give up and I would not surrender," Jemek recalled.
His ability to stay cool when confronted with the officers might have been the result of his past associations with the criminal world -- he stole valuables from graveyards, worked as a pickpocket and was arrested by the police many times.
"Look at my toes. The scars are still there, where they crushed my toes with a table leg to make me confess. They either crushed my toes or hit me in the legs with a hammer. Because they did it so many times, I stopped feeling pain when the police beat me," Jemek said of his dark past.
Having been in a grave, Jemek is not afraid of death. In 1998 he performed a piece called Bedah Bumi (Exploring the Earth), which he put on in Kintelan cemetery, not far from his house.
In front of the house, he pretended to die and his neighbors put his body in a coffin. The coffin was then carried to the graveyard in a procession, just as it is done when a person dies.
Along the way, many people were "deceived" into thinking he was actually dead -- they were not aware that it was a performance, with several flower vendors tossing out handfuls of petals when the coffin passed in front of their stalls.
"Poor, Jemek. Yesterday afternoon he greeted me. Now he is dead," Jemek quotes a flower vendor as saying upon seeing the procession.
In 2006, he performed a show with death as its theme in Batu, Malang, East Java. The performance was spontaneous, taking place during the funeral of the mother of literary man Sindhunata. Jemek entertained the deceased's family with his pantomime show, turning mourning into amusement.
That is the unique ability of this pantomime artist who has remained faithful to his profession. Though he has many creative ideas, he has trouble making ends meet. Fortunately, his painter wife is able to earn money with her work.
Jemek usually performs twice a month, earning about Rp 500,000 (US$55) per show. Clearly, this is not enough even to send his only child to school. Therefore, he also works as a coffin seller not far from his house.
"It's true that I don't have much money. But when it comes to pantomime, I am still an idealist. I will not sell pantomime for money. I'd rather become a pickpocket to make money."
