TheJakartaPost
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The doom and gloom of Jakarta’s monuments
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The Irian Jaya Liberation Statue in Banteng Square, Central Jakarta (Antara Foto/Muhammad Adimaja)
T
he recently-demolished Getah Getih bamboo installation by Joko Avianto is just one of Jakarta’s numerous monuments marred by controversies and complications.
In 1964, President Sukarno had a discussion with then-Jakarta governor and painter Henk Ngantung about Jakarta’s skyline.
“I want Jakarta to have an artistic atmosphere. As Jakarta has to reflect a very high spirit of nationalism, it should be expressed through art,” said Sukarno. What he meant by art were monuments in the city.
Attempts were made by subsequent Jakarta governors to realize Sukarno’s idea. Former governor Sutiyoso, who served between 1997 and 2007, even proposed that statues of heroes be erected on roads bearing their names. The idea was swiftly rejected as it would turn Jakarta – where so many of its roads use such names – into “a city of mummies.”
Monuments have become an inseparable part and soul of the capital. But behind their attractive forms, the monuments have sad stories to tell.
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