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An art teacher's portrayal of the unending manifestations of life
Effendy’s interpretations of life were on display at his solo exhibition, “Belum Selesai Tumbuh” (Still Growing) at the Malang Art Council building from Jan. 20 to 30.
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Complicated: Effendy Setyohandoyo says he often feels trapped in the ambiguous state of being a teacher and visual artist. (JP/Nedi Putra AW)
The journey of life, in all its many manifestations, can be expressed in various forms.
The form chosen by Effendy Setyohandoyo, an artist from Malang, East Java, is painting. Effendy’s interpretations of life were on display at his solo exhibition, “Belum Selesai Tumbuh” (Still Growing) at the Malang Art Council building from Jan. 20 to 30.
The exhibition displayed 20 of his paintings.
“The title represents that the events of life are forever underway,” said Effendy, who is also a senior high school art teacher.
Effendy said he began his journey in visual arts in 1985. Since then, his works have been displayed in Malang, Yogyakarta and Bali, as well as other regions around the country.
“This is my first solo exhibition. The previous ones were joint exhibitions,” said Effendy, whose works are signed with his nickname, Goweng.
His observations of political, social and environmental issues are reflected in his works, which he has created over the last 17 years.
One artwork, Hello Caleg (Hello Legislative Candidates), is an acrylic painting on canvas featuring the face of former United States president Barack Obama in a pop-art style. This painting, he said, commented on the legislative election in Indonesia in 2009.
“I used the image of Barack Obama to symbolize the democratic process,”
The painting also features random figures placed in a circle, which, according to Effendy, created a language of creation the way colors did.
Such figures are also found in paintings like Catatan (Records), which depicts a buffalo with a necktie in its mouth to symbolize corruption, as, after enjoying their illicit gains, embezzlers become stupid like buffalos.
Effendy also took note of many people’s apathy toward general elections in Merayakan Golput (Celebrating Non-voting), by recreating the famous photo of US soldiers hoisting the national flag at Iwo Jima during World War II. However, in Effendy’s recreation, the flag is white.
In Merayakan Golput, he also includes various symbols, such as a picture of one of the flag hoisters treading on a ballot box with a dog beside them.
“Some abstainers only talked bombastically,” he said.
In another painting, Effendy criticizes the public craze of illegal lotteries, called togel.
In addition to paintings, the exhibition also included some of Effendy’s installation works.
In one installation, Effendy put the spotlight on consumerism by using the visual symbol of donuts getting in a chamber pot, while in another, titled Pengumuman (Announcement), Effendy used a provisional identity card to signify his protest against delayed public services.
“It’s the provisional ID card of my son, who has applied for an electronic ID card but so far hasn’t received one because, among other reasons, the unavailability of materials,” said the father of two, who said this was a common experience for people across Indonesia.
Some of Effendy’s installation works also touch upon the subject of religion and the spiritual world.
In a work called Pulang (Returning Home), Effendy uses an illustration of a set of stairs and the image of a person to serve as a reminder that in the hereafter we bring only our good and bad deeds.
Effendy also promotes introspection by depicting a figure resembling Jesus, seated and in deep thought on human behavior.
For Effendy, the dynamics of human life could be artistically captured and he wanted the public to see and interpret his works with total freedom.
However, he said he realized that the public still had a low interest in and appreciation of works of art.
“Today, the younger generation’s education is geared toward subjects that lead to employment, so there’s a less focus on art and social matters,” he said, referring to the common assumption that it was difficult to earn a living from art.
“Everything happening around us is a process that is not yet finished,” said Effendy, adding that he lived by the adapt-or-die principle to avoid becoming stagnant or sidelined in the present-day art world.
