Going on a shopping spree for many signifies leisure, fun, and has become an inseparable part of contemporary urban life.
Pentagram, a digital print on acrylic by Ade Darmawani.
Why is shopping so (fatally) attractive to urbanites — and non-urbanites? Does it make people feel like they are attaining lost or unreachable dreams?
Whatever the reason, shopping as an expression of increased economic welfare, and in many ways of social standing, has evolved from a mere activity of purchasing basic foods in the market place, to one that reflects multiple issues related to consumerism and psychological disturbances or dysfunctions.
This is made evident in Shopping, an exhibition curated by Rifky Effendy and organized by Nadi Gallery at the Jakarta Art District of the Grand Indonesia mall.
Right from the entrance of the Jakarta Art District’s communal space where the show is currently held, engraved text on a large bag brings forward the complex issues that underlie the term “shopping”.
While shopping often morphs into an addiction, with people feeling an almost uncontrollable desire to shop, the activity may also compensate for feelings of grief, greed, anger and uncertainty.
The act of shopping can also indicate a search for healing, clarity, growth or the intent to move on after life problems.
Astari’s iconic bag, initially covered with words like Greed, Uncertainty, Fear, Anger and the like, now features the terms Denial, Acceptance and Awareness, hinting at the artist’s personal experiences. As such, the shopping bag, titled Shopping for Recovery, has become an important medium of expression for the artist.
The roses and the Wayang Tree of Life tucked into the bag convey a sense of shopping’s deeper meaning in the artist’s life.
Of a different kind, but still carrying a similar message, Theresia Agustina Sitompul’s installation — a shop window displaying a white dress with a multitude of sleeves accompanied by the constant ticking sound of a sewing machine — refers to an industry that perpetually challenges a woman’s desire for fashion and beauty. It is aptly titled All In the Name of Desire.
In fact, urban life is steeped in an overflow of tantalizing products evoking the public’s desire to buy beyond their basic needs. Ade Darmawan’s Pentagram reveals the powers out to challenge man’s abilities to think rationally. The artist uses an image of hands reaching out to a human brain inside a shopping trolley to convey the magic of consumerism.
But this magic may not be obvious to those busy running errands in suburban shops where everything but luxurious goods is available, as is presented in Anggun Priambodo’s Toko Keperluan, a shop selling basic commodities like eggs — although a TV is also for sale.
All in the Name of Desire, installation made of fabric, steel and an electronic player, by Theresia Agustina.
Perhaps the most ingenious work in the exhibition is Dipo Andy’s Canting Project, which presents a range of old canting, a device used to make batik. While there has been much talk recently about batik representing national identity, the little canting, the oldest tool in civilization, is often forgotten, says the artist.
Yet this small device enables the batik maker to infuse his work of art with a touch of his soul, giving the batik cloth its genuine features sought by batik connoisseurs.
The exhibition presents the concept of shopping from many angles, from the shop where every day products are available, to mere boxes, like Arief Tousiga’s soap box mimicking Andy Warhol’s Brillo soap box, or Ketut Moniarta’s Pocari Sweat Box that reminds patients afflicted by dengue fever of the healing liquid they had to swallow to recover.
In the world of shopping, certain brands like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, or Prada conjure images of the rich, fashionable and beautiful. Nadia Savitri’s work titled All I Ever Wanted, consisting of ceramic mechanic tools engraved with the word Chanel, is a sarcastic take on such a perception. Another neon light box, made by Angki Purbandono, depicts children’s toys, an exciting practice that he has entertained the masses immensely lately.
Shopping indeed can be fun, as we indulge in fantasies and dreams, and the greater fun of this is of course that fantasies don’t have to end, and neither do dreams, for one can go on shopping until the end of time. But the dream must surely stop as banknotes lose their value. Adya Ranadireksa’s seems to suggest so, in his work depicting fading images of national heroes on banknotes.
The exhibition, which also includes works by Abdi Setiawan, Agan Harahap, Davy linggar, Indra Ameng, and many more, fits amazingly well in the shopping mall of Grand Indonesia.
— Photos by Carla Bianpoen
Shopping
Exhibition by Nadi Gallery
Until Aug. 16
Jakarta Art District
Grand Indonesian East Mall, LG.
Jakarta
