An exhibition of 13 Indonesian and Dutch artists opened on Jan. 20 at Erasmus Huis, the Dutch cultural center.
The exhibition features an overview of the results of the last half of the project, and is held to mark the close of a three-year project undertaken by Cemeti Art House in Yogyakarta and Heden (formerly Arthoteek) in the Hague.
Cemeti is widely known for its pioneering initiatives, and Heden is a Dutch arts organization that runs an online art collection and is also involved in projects that foster cultural, social and physical understanding worldwide.
Their collaboration has brought together Dutch and Indonesian artists in residencies of three months each, allowing artists to work without interruptions.
For three months, an Indonesian and a Dutch artist would stay together in a house in Yogyakarta, drawing inspiration from the break in the usual, and create works they would otherwise never have been able to make.
They only needed to concentrate on their art, said Mela Jaarsma of Cemeti. Accommodation, food and material were all provided for free.
Needless to say, artworks of a different kind have been the result, as the various "Landing Soon" exhibitions have shown, and can be viewed in the exhibition that runs until March 18.
Participating artists include Arfan Sabran, Ralph K*mena,Ellen Rodenberg, Wimo Ambala Bayang, Maarten Scheper, Urs Pfanenm*ller, Sigit Bapak, Elizabeth de Vaal, Beatrix H. Kaswara, Cilia Erens, Octora Rosalie Monod de Froideville and Wiyoga Muhardanto.
Of particular interest for Indonesia may be the soundscape by Dutch-born Cilia Erens. Deviating from the sound art of similar artists with a background in music and whose work is produced perhaps by the manipulation of sounds, Erens does not exploit sound or voice. According to Nindityo Adipurnomo, Cilia's sound art is the result of filtering, conceptual selection of recordings of the reality of civilization and daily human life.
"Sounds and noises arise, rustling quietly but persistently, thundering in front of the drums, whirring rhythmically in the background, marking the time, all of this becoming a unified phenomenon of sound and noise that swings with time intervals, witnessing the changes of each era and generation, like a giant carpet embracing the city's identity."
Trained as a city planner, Erens has made a name as a sound artist and has conducted numerous "sound walks" in various countries.
Also very special is Arfan Sabran from Makassar, an artist who won three Metro TV Eagle Awards in 2006 with his documentary film Suster Apung.
Focusing on social problems, particularly national issues, his films usually touch on cases in history that rarely come to the surface, taking another angle on history. His work here, for instance, is about the near-fatal experience of a gamelan music troupe in a village after an alleged attempted coup in September 1965.
"Follow the goat" is the local vernacular for "Follow the leader", but the Indonesian phrase has a more critical undertone, such as blindly following or aping. Sigit Bapak's installation of a duck is about this, about going with the flow of the market even though one knows better.
Residencies of this kind give artists, particularly upcoming ones, a unique space for interaction, stimulating new creative urges that take their art to a different level. In this sense, "Landing Soon" has been exemplary.
Landing Soon *6 through *11
Jan. 20 - March. 18, 2010
Erasmus Huis
Jl. Rasuna Said, Kav. S-3 Kuningan, Jakarta 12950, Indonesia Open from Monday-Thursday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m, and Friday 9 a.m - 2 p.m.
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