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Uji Handoko: Finding freedom from the canvas
Hahan, as Uji Handoko is known, is one of the emerging “celebrated” artists of his generation
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H
ahan, as Uji Handoko is known, is one of the emerging “celebrated” artists of his generation.
A recent graduate of the graphic arts department of the Indonesian Institute of the Arts (ISI), Yogyakarta, Hahan has made a name for himself not only as a visual artist, but also as a singer in a few bands, thus raising his profile. He is also known for his amusing expressions and distinctive fashion style, all apparently much inspired by Andy Warhol.
At Friday’s opening of his solo exhibition at SIGIarts Gallery, he took to the stage as a DJ, dressed completely in red, entertaining the audience with his smiles and humorous songs. This unconventional approach to the opening reflects the style in his artwork. Adopting comedy as his main style, Hahan has developed his own work by drawing on the concept of shadows. In his paintings, he applies the colors just outside the outline, lending his pieces a blurred effect, even giving the impression his paintings are messy, or incomplete — an effect that he seems quite happy with.
His works in the exhibition, titled “Sorry, No Canvas Today”, are all done on wood. Two of the pieces are large square wooden paintings, featuring colorful comic images. As if creating a comic strip, Hahan includes text in the paintings, which helps connect viewers to the stories and ideas behind the work.
This is grey zone by Uji Handoko. Courtesy of Uji Handoko
In other pieces, arranged away from the wall, the shape of the wood forms part of the artwork. The effect of these aspects is to leave us wondering whether each of these artworks is a painting or a sculpture: If a painting, it has the illusion of three dimensions; if a sculpture, the basic concept is of a two-dimensional painting.
Painted on the wood are amusing figures, applied with light brushstrokes, which are reminiscent of street art in public spaces. In the world of contemporary visual art, this style is linked to what some call “lowbrow art”, in reference to images inspired by underground comics, punk music, hot-rod street culture and other subcultures.
Hahan seems to enjoy playing around with definitions and techniques as it challenges him to go beyond art conventions. He has admitted that he feels bored by the way exhibitions tend to include just canvas paintings on the wall, with no variety — as an artist, he explains, he doesn’t want to be trapped by such limitations.
This desire to do something new — to explore new mediums and avoid canvas as much as possible — led to the current project with curator Hendro Wiyanto. Having studied woodwork, he found wood a good alternative.
Hahan’s artworks show how he has absorbed urban and youth culture, with his musical activities apparently inspiring his visual art. Although at first glance, he appears to eschew political ideas, preferring just to have fun with art, we should remember that youth today often have a different view of politics to older generations. For youth, “being political” is not necessarily about engaging in one particular ideology, movement, or party, and with the mass media, formal political symbols have lost some of their meaning.
Hahan, for example, chooses to be critical of his own self, since discovering the ambiguities of his life he realizes the difficulty in deciding what he stands for. As shown by “Sorry, No Canvas Today”, he certainly does not stand for the commercial art market and its conventions.
Sorry, No Canvas Today
Solo exhibition by Uji Handoko
Until Nov. 3
SIGIarts Gallery
Jl. Mahakam I No. 11 Jakarta 12130
www.sigiarts.com
Hours: Tue–Sun, 12–8 p.m.
