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Jakarta Biennale 2015: Let's talk about history, gender & water
Lively event: Lively excitement marked the opening of the Jakarta Biennale in Gudang Sarinah in South Jakarta, on Saturday
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span class="inline inline-center">Lively event: Lively excitement marked the opening of the Jakarta Biennale in Gudang Sarinah in South Jakarta, on Saturday. The biennale showcases various artworks from both local and international artists.
Jakarta Biennale opens its doors on Saturday at the Gudang Sarinah (Sarinah Warehouse) in Pancoran, South Jakarta, unveiling paintings, installations and photography works that touch on issues surrounding water, history and gender.
Taking the theme of 'Maju Kena Mundur Kena: Bertindak Sekarang' (Neither Back nor Forward: Acting in the Present'), this year's Jakarta Biennale exhibits the works of 42 Indonesian and 28 overseas artists in a warehouse belonging to Indonesia's first department store, Sarinah.
The choice of venue and the theme, which is inspired by a popular 1983 comedy by the Warkop DKI group, are part of Jakarta Biennale's continuous efforts to bring art closer to the public.
For the first time, Jakarta Biennale works with lead curator Charles Esche from Scotland, who collaborated with six emerging Indonesian curators in selecting artworks for the two-month exhibition.
Esche, director of the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, said through the theme, Jakarta Biennale sought to concentrate on the present, instead of indulging in past nostalgia or future utopia.
The artworks, 80 percent of which are commissioned works, are categorized under three topics: water, history and gender.
Esche said the three topics represented elements people could easily relate to.
'Dirty water, living by the water, the flooding. All the issues on water are very strong, very present here,' he said in a press conference at the warehouse.
'Not only in Jakarta, but [the whole Indonesian archipelago] has a relationship with water,' he added.
A number of artists present their reflections on important chapters of Indonesian history, such as the 1945 independence declaration or the tumultuous years of 1965 and 1998.
'These elements of history have become important, [we are] looking at what is relevant from history for today,'
Bandung-based artist Tisna Sanjaya reflects on the sad metamorphosis of his village of Cigondewah, where the once clean river turned black and became heavily polluted, and where fundamentalist Islam was thriving.
'I want to give a glimmer of hope by planting 33 seeds [as part of the artwork], which after the event will be transported back to the village. This signifies our present efforts to grow something for the future,' he said.
Curator Irma Chantily from Jakarta said the theme of gender, among other things, would also cast light on the position of women in society.
'Perhaps the experiences of women in Western countries are slightly different from those in Indonesia. But we can't deny that today, [globally], patriarchy is still very strong. Women are burdened with many roles and expectations,' she said.
The video art of Turkish artist Zeyno Pekünlü is inspired by her experience of learning the traditional martial art of pencak silat during her three-week visit to Jakarta.
'I create this fantasy movie, where I am the heroine of pencak silat. In Turkey, women often face violence, and this is my response to the issue,' she said.
This is the second time the Jakarta Biennale exhibition is held outside of a gallery since 2013, when the art event turned the basement of Teater Jakarta into its exhibition space.
This time around, the little-known Sarinah warehouse complex becomes the home for Jakarta Biennale, courtesy of state-owned department store Sarinah.
'[With the choice of this venue] we want to approach the public. Some people may feel intimidated when entering a gallery,' Irma said.
In stark contrast to the white walls and air conditioned rooms of an art gallery, the artists at Jakarta Biennale 2015 need to arrange their works among the dented and rough brick walls of the warehouse.
'In arranging the artworks, we use the architectural logic of Jakarta's kampungs [urban villages], where everything builds organically from bottom to the top,' Irma added.
Three days ahead of the opening, artists were preparing their installations inside the spacious warehouse, the front wall of which is painted in hot pink. Partitions were erected in some corners to provide intimate space for a number of artists' video art, installations and photography works.
At the adjacent warehouse, mural artists put final touches on their works painted to the wall.
During the biennale, the warehouse hosts a number of events, such as artists' workshops and symposiums relating to the three themes.
The symposiums humorously took their titles from Warkop DKI's movies, such as Mana Bisa Tahan: Tentang Kesenjangan dan Kebersamaan (Impossible to Go On: On Inequality and Collectivity) and Aku Suka Kamu Punya: Tentang Aktivisme lewat Kebersamaan (I Like What You Got: On Activism and Collectivism).
Jakarta Biennale also holds a series of art projects in Jakarta, Surabaya (East Java) and Jatiwangi in Majalengka, West Java.
Jakarta Biennale executive director Ade Darmawan said as part of a public education program, the Jakarta Biennale Foundation was also launching a book titled Seni Rupa Kita (Our Fine Art) to expand the knowledge of art among high school students.
'Numerous students, as we can see, create murals and have an understanding about street art. The question is, do they know about the history of Indonesian paintings?' Ade queried.
'Through the book, we want to help students better understand art history, art mediums and careers in art. They should know that they don't have to be artists to have a career in the arts, but they can also be art writers, curators, managers or producers.'
' Photos by JP/DMR
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Closer look
Jakarta Biennale: 'Maju Kena Mundur Kena: Bertindak Sekarang' (Neither Back nor Forward: Acting in the Present')
Exhibition: Nov. 15, 2015 to Jan. 17, 2016
Venue: Gudang Sarinah, Jl. Pancoran Timur II No. 4, Pancoran, South Jakarta Guided tours are available on Saturdays and Sundays
Official website: jakartabiennale.net
Curators:
Charles Esche; Anwar 'Jimpe' Rachman from Makassar, South Sulawesi;
Benny Wicaksono from Surabaya, East Java; Putra Hidayatullah from Aceh;
and Asep Topan, Irma Chantily and Riksa Afiaty from Jakarta.
