The Phantom of the Bodies: The soul that lingers

Prodita Sabarini ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sun, 11/16/2008 10:27 AM  |  Arts & Design

To sculptor Ichwan Noor the union between personal items and their wearers does not stop with the latter taking off their clothes or getting up from their chairs.

The sight of a crumpled shirt and tie on a hanger can make a woman think of her yuppie lover. In one's mind, an empty chair can suddenly be occupied with the woman in the skirt and high heels; while ragged workers overalls reminds one of the worn-out laborer.

The idea of the wearer's soul lingering on items intrigues Ichwan and has inspired his work. In his solo exhibition "The Phantom of Bodies" at SIGIarts gallery, South Jakarta, which runs from Nov. 12 to 24, Ichwan, 45, shows colorful statues with body parts fused with everyday items.

"Items are left by their owners. The items are deserted. However, we can still visualize the traces of the spirit of the owner," he said.

"The authentic experience of the wearer still lingers on the items. It's interesting," he said at the exhibition opening.

His works show various qualities from the tragic and comic to mundane day-to-day experiences. His works draws references from fashion, to sport, to war and conflict.

Various pieces show clothing as the central theme, such as in Gadis (Girl) (2008), Torso (2008), Colorful Relief (2006), and Duduk Manis (Sitting Sweetly) (2008). These sculptures are mostly colorful, with Ichwan using bright green, orange, yellow and red.

For his sculptures, he uses various materials, including polyester, fiber glass and aluminum. "Many times, the sculptures themselves ask me to use a certain material or color," Ichwan said.

Menerima Kekalahan (Accepting Defeat) (2007) is a humorous piece. Here, Ichwan presented a metal sculpture of an athlete's T-shirt splayed on the corner of a table. From the left short-sleeve was a raised arm with its hand making a thumbs-up gesture.

Meanwhile, Agreement (2008) showed a darker side of Ichwan. He sculpted an automatic rifle-cum-human arm. The blue rifle had the form of a human hand as its end, which was interlocked in a hand shake gesture to a golden skeleton of a hand.

One would be reminded of Indonesia's dark past of militarism in Timor Leste or Aceh from this work.

"As we see in a number of his works in the exhibition, Ichwan is visualizing the lingering bodily sensation that stays even in the items that have been stripped from their pragmatic function. There, we see observation and appreciation towards the body that continuously give meanings to items it has been connected with," curator Hendro Wiyanto writes in the catalogue.

"That is the body, which returns like a phantom, shadowing items close to everyday human lives, such as clothing, working gears, games and such," he continues.

"Phantom of the Bodies" is the second solo exhibition of Ichwan. An alumni from Indonesia Art Institute, Yogyakarta, he has participated in various group exhibitions, including "Manifesto" at Galeri Nasional earlier this year.

The Phantom of the Bodies
by Ichwan Noor
Nov. 12-24,2008
SIGIarts
Jl. Mahakam No.1, South Jakarta

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