T

he exhibition of works by Octora Chan in her exhibition, “After Happiness”, at d’Gallerie in Jakarta encompasses the reflections of a young woman evoked by traditional perceptions of her ethnic Chinese
culture.

Beautiful, stirring and thought-provoking, the works denote a passionate character coping with perceptions that seem obsolete amid a changing world.

Octora Chan is of Chinese descent, and was born in Bandung in 1982. Being a woman and a member of a minority that has often been the target of violence and discrimination — made her feel like “the other” — filled with anxiety and dark premonitions.

 Studying law, she also enrolled in the sculpture studio at Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), where she found a way to release the tensions that plagued her days. She graduated from law school and art studies at the same time but pursued her engagement with the arts, joining in various group exhibitions and eventually wining the Bandung Contemporary Art Award 2011.

Aptly represented by a mirror, Octora’s artistic reflections are manifest with symbolism in the heritage of the ethnic Chinese, as well as those occurring in present-day life. Decorated with the mythical phoenix birds and the words ayah, suami, putra, (father, husband, son) it is a simple but strong statement on what is perceived as most important in a woman’s life, according to the doctrine held by her ethnic Chinese culture.

This also resonates with the term “double happiness” or shu ngx; a Chinese symbol denoting joy and happiness that usually appears as decorative motive associated with Chinese wedding celebrations. For Octora, however, the term further emulates the doctrine that a woman can only be happy if she has a father, is married and has borne a son. To express her interpretation of the term and what it entails, Octora sticks sharp pins on the wooden surface to form the symbol.

Revisiting her earlier engagement with the traditional female garment, she twists the beauty of the former kebaya encim (classic Betawi-style kebaya) recreating it as a modern cold tunic made with metal and coated with powder.

The kebaya has often been considered repressive as it was the prescribed dress code for women. Looking lovely and slim, however, was not always easy, and more often than not women had to wear tight corset’s to streamline their body and fit it into the kebaya.

 Even though women moaned they also took pleasure in their slim figure. Perhaps Octora wanted to twist this sense when naming the tunic made of powder coated metal Algolagnia, which means sexual pleasure from physical pain, a form of sadomasochism.

In the same vein, another piece, Dominatrix, is a pair of beautiful looking shoes that have heels that look like daggers.

Further explorations with garments brought back memories of the rapes of ethnic Chinese women in 1998. She writes excerpts from a journal reporting on the rapes on the collar of the dress, which extends beyond the length of the dress.

This piece entitled The Heritage of Pain, is made of brass. It is clear that Octora battles dilemmas when it comes to memories of her culture. Standing between her cultural background and a globalised world — not even time can rid her of memories relating to the past.

Sometimes she feels like a ship adrift in the wide ocean. This notion is expressed in the large installation, My Soul Odyssee. Created with a thousand little stainless steel origami-boats, replicated from boats that were once used to accompany the dead on their passage from the earth, traveling from the here and now into the unknown.

At other times in the exhibition she seems more courageous and faces her heritage with optimism. In My Pain, My Pleasure the artist collected shattered pieces of china (ceramics) which she then reconstructed as a corset that holds the torso in the desired shape. It is a metaphor for a fresh vision ahead.

The opening of this exhibition on Oct. 4 was held on the eve of Octora’s departure to France. During her time in France she will undertake a residency earned through the Bandung Contemporary Art Award (BaCAA) 2011/2012.


After Happiness
A solo exhibition by Octora Chan
at d’Gallerie, until Oct. 20, 2012
Jl. Barito 1, Jakarta