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Maestro Dolorosa Sinaga and her protégé illuminate Indonesia's dark past
Senior sculptor and her protege bring social activism to art, telling the stories of Indonesia's past and present.
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Artistic activism: Dolorosa Sinaga (second right) delivers a speech on July 19, 2024, at the opening of an exhibition at the National Gallery in Jakarta. Curator Alexander Supartono (left) and fellow sculptor Budi Santoso (second left) listened to the speech. (JP/Sylviana Hamdani)
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rt does not always capture the beauty of our world for the enjoyment of the audience. Sometimes, art also pokes at our neatly dressed wounds and rips the bandages off.
Such are the works presented by Indonesian sculptor Dolorosa Sinaga and her former protégé, Budi Santoso. Their joint exhibition, titled “Statues and Activism”, delves into Indonesia’s turbulent history, as well as today’s problems.
“Their works encourage us to question the things we’re afraid to question ourselves,” said Alexander Supartono, curator of the exhibition, during a press tour on July 19.
The exhibition, which runs in Building A of the National Gallery until Aug. 19, showcases over 200 works by the two artists.
Sociopolitical activism
In front of the main building, just below its white marble steps, a thin man slumps over a coffin atop a thick book titled Indonesian History of Mass Murder 1965-1966, his wide-open mouth seemingly uttering a silent scream.
