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View all search results‘Beyond Unsettled Past’: Revisiting Indonesia’s colonial legacies
The exhibition, held at in Erasmus Huis in Jakarta, reexamines colonial legacies through a distinctly Indonesian lens. Curated by historian Sadiah Boonstra and artist Sukiato Khurniawan, the show features powerful works by six artists that confront the lingering imprints of colonialism on society.
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Colonial roots: Visitors ponder 'Long Hanging Fruits’ by Elia Nurvista, an installation reflecting on the exploitative legacy of oil palm trees, introduced to Indonesia by the Dutch in 1848.
JP/Sylviana Hamdani (JP/Sylviana Hamdani)
C
olonialism is a dark chapter in history that few wish to revisit. For former colonizers, it evokes shame over past cruelties and injustice; for the colonized, it stirs pain, and perhaps anger, at having been dominated and silenced. And yet, whether we acknowledge it or not, the impacts of colonialism still linger, like a ghost in the shadows.
Rather than keeping them hidden and hopefully forgotten, the Dutch cultural center Erasmus Huis has chosen to confront them. Until Nov. 1, its exhibition hall hosts “Beyond Unsettled Past”, a powerful showcase that reckons with the enduring legacies of Dutch colonialism in Indonesia.
“The legacy of colonialism is not confined to history books,” said Nicolaas de Regt, director of Erasmus Huis. “It lives in landscapes, institutions, language, power, identity and memories.”
“For some people, it’s a painful one,” he continued. “For others, [it’s] a responsibility. But I think, for all, it’s unfinished.”
The idea began when De Regt visited “Imprints”, a 2024 exhibition at the Wereldmuseum in Amsterdam. Back in Jakarta, he partnered with historian and curator Sadiah Boonstra and assistant curator Sukiato Khurniawan to craft a similar project from an entirely Indonesian perspective.
They brought together six artists, namely Arahmaiani, Budi Agung Kuswara, Dita Gambiro, Eldwin Pradipta, Elia Nurvista and Maharani Mancanagara, to present works that reflect the lasting imprints of colonialism on Indonesian society.
Seeds of exploitation
