T

he scene this week at the boat pond at the Bandung Zoo in Bandung, West Java, was unlike any other, thanks to Isa Perkasa, artist and lecturer at the School of Fine Arts and Design at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

Isa waded out to an island in the middle of the pond and turned it into his '€œoffice'€. There, he mingled with two Javan gibbons (Hylobates moloch) that lived on a separate island in the open enclosure.

The long-haired artist wore a coat, black shirt and pants. Not feeling quite neat enough, he added a checkered black-and-white tie.

'€œThis resembles the everyday activity of legislators,'€ said Isa of his act at the zoo earlier this week.

The performance, titled '€œTaking office in monkey enclosure'€, is Isa'€™s commentary on the behavior of politicians currently jockeying for power at the House of Representatives in Jakarta.

To criticize the work ethic of the legislators, Isa acted like a monkey, eating bananas, engaging in conversation with the gibbons and painting a monkey wearing a suit and donning a skull cap.

To him, the acts mimicked the behavior of House members.

He also instituted a rule that anyone wishing to visit his '€œoffice'€ had to put on a monkey mask.

In line with a recommendation made by zoo management. Isa occupied a separate island from the gibbons.

'€œEvery time the enclosure is opened for cleaning, the animals are moved to the opposite island. That way, they are still around, but separated,'€ said Bandung Zoo'€™s Mammal Affairs head, Yayat Ruhiyat.

Isa'€™s act was part of a program called '€œThe Annual Jeprut: Jeprut Permanent'€, which takes place from Oct. 31 to Nov. 9. The term jeprut, or '€œcut'€ in the Sundanese language, is used to describe art that acts as social commentary. Besides Isa, 12 other artists are also taking part in the program, in separate locations.

Another artist-cum-teacher, Wawan Husin, invited members of the public to attend his performance at the Curug Omas waterfall in Djuanda Great Forest Park, which is located upstream of the Cikapundung River that bisects Bandung city.

In his act, Wawan plunged into the river and then lit a piece of paper on fire. He then played with the fire, reminding onlookers of the importance of water as a life-giving resource that is clean and clear but turns filthy once it enters the city.

Artist Iwan Ismael chose to deliver his message on city walls, using spray paint over stencil to criticize the lack of public toilets.

'€œThe city lacks such public facilities,'€ said Iwan.

Meanwhile, dancer Ine Arini danced around the demolition site of the Palaguna building, the first modern shopping center in Bandung.

'€œIt is a form of prayer as well as protest. The form depends on the emotions and whispers during the act,'€ said Ine, who was accompanied by her husband, Herry Dim, when she performed the dance on Nov. 2.

The artists said that their performances were well positioned to make an impact, as it was likely more difficult for conventional artists to trigger understanding of social issues.