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‘Theater of Me’: Indonesian artist’s satirical self-portraits face the public
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Reflections: Visitors look at Self-Portrait and the Theater Stage by artist Agus Suwage on June 30 at The Theater of Me solo exhibition, held until mid-October at the Macan Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Jakarta. (AFP/Adek Berry)
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i>Artist Agus Suwage displays his artwork of selfies, nuanced with political history, at the Macan Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.
For 30 years, Indonesian artist Agus Suwage has created hyper-stylized selfies, from caricatures of himself to imposing his face on a dictator, to document his search for identity in the country's turmoil during the early millennium.
The Macan Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Jakarta is devoting an exhibition, “The Theater of Me”, to the artist’s work, with more than 80 pieces on display spanning three decades of his career.
Agus's self-portraits document his life as an artist deeply influenced by political change in Indonesia, such as the fall of dictator Soeharto in 1998 and the hopes raised by the democratic revival that followed.
The 63-year-old depicts himself in unconventional ways, and his unnerving installations play with racial and cultural stereotypes in the archipelagic country.
The exhibition was on hold for several years after it was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, which closed museums for months.
"During this long hiatus, I had forgotten a lot of the process and the artwork we planned to exhibit. So this is an important moment of rediscovering, reminiscing and rekindling the works I've done, just like meeting an old friend,” Agus told reporters.
