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See the person, not the problem
Sadikin Pard paints with his left foot
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Sadikin Pard paints with his left foot.
The test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members. ' Nobel Prize winner and author Pearl S. Buck. The World Health Organization estimates about 15 per cent of the global population is disabled. In Indonesia that translates to 36 million.
This story could have been about a cripple squatting at an intersection, his self-esteem in the gutter, hoping pitying motorists might cast a coin to ease their conscience. That's how many of the disabled survive in
Indonesia.
Instead it's about a dignified artist who has done better than most despite a handicap that would drive lesser people to mope, rage or suicide.
Sadikin Pard was born in Malang, East Java, in October 1966. He entered the world without arms. Despite great advances in medical science, the cause of half of all birth defects is unknown.
He was the eighth of nine children. All the others are normal.
'Birth control wasn't popular in those days,' he said. 'My parents were traditional people, but exceptional. Their priority was education. They never treated me with pity.'
Also exemplary is the way they reacted to their son's disabilities. Instead of hiding him to deflect neighbor nastiness, for such births were considered a curse for imagined sins, Sadikin went to school.
Aided by his siblings he rapidly learned how to use his feet and mouth to compensate for a lack of arms.
Handless, sure ' helpless, not.
Was there discrimination? There must have been, but Sadikin moves on: 'Being handicapped doesn't mean we're unintelligent or can't contribute to society,' he said. 'As they say in the West ' see the person, not the problem.'
For many children from poor families an elementary education is enough. The kids have got to get out and work. Sadikin kept learning.
Not only could he write and draw, he also mastered chess. At Muhammadiyah University he studied psychology.
By now he might have been practising professionally, assuming he could have found an equal opportunity employer. Instead he read a newspaper story that changed his life.
It was about an European organization offering scholarships to help disabled artists get the security of a regular income. He applied and was accepted in 1989.
The scholarship provided him with equipment, materials, tuition and a stipend for three years. His work improved.
Eventually he became a member of the Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists of the World, internationally better known as VDMFK after the German title.
Although it has more than 800 artists on its books from 85 countries, only nine are Indonesians. Tiny Singapore has 14.
'I don't know why this is so,' Sadikin said. 'Of course many can't be artists. I was lucky. I always liked to draw and paint. VDMFK isn't a social organization ' it's commercial. I send them ten paintings a year. Our work is evaluated and then distributed to publishers for sale, mainly to illustrate calendars and cards.'
At a two-story house in the Malang suburb of Sawojajar where Sadikin lives with his wife Sutini, 45, and their two teenage sons; workmen are building a studio to ease crowding. There's a new car in the yard ' all from the proceeds of his work.
The couple have been to European and Asian countries, meeting disabled artists, exchanging ideas and anecdotes, transforming perceived tragedies into positive outcomes.
Sadikin prefers to use oils and specializes in landscapes, though he's now branched into social commentary. Some of his bigger canvasses feature characters from the wayang kulit (shadow puppet) theater in modern urban settings, their batik more money than cloth.
'I'm concerned at the commercialization of society,' he explained. 'I want to change Indonesia so people are better educated and smarter. These paintings don't go abroad.'
VDMFK maintains quality control. The works it sells are technically competent, the subjects familiar, not confrontational. Pets, landscapes and seascapes, still life and nature. One of Sadikin's most popular international prints featured a Balinese dancer on a calendar cover.
'If you dream low, you go low,' said Sadikin. 'I have many teachers, my wife, nature, and our friends.'
'I teach art at an orphanage. Like it or not we are role models and ambassadors representing the millions who are disabled. We have to accept what we have ' behind a handicap is a reason. My challenge is to show I'm equal to anyone.'
' Photos by Duncan Graham
