Complex: Jason Lim from Singapore and Daniela Beltrani from Italy present '€œPlacebo1'€ .

Indonesian performance artists were active in the 1980s and 1990s, activist Melati Suryodarmo says, but the combination of visual art and dramatic performances has grown slowly since that heyday.

Melati, however, is working to change that. The Surakarta-based performance artist organized the seventh iteration of '€œUndisclosed Territory'€ from Aug. 27 to 31, showcasing performances, workshops and discussions.

The event, presented by Padepokan Lemah Putih and the Plesungan Performance Art Laboratory from Karanganyar, Central Java, featured 18 performance artists and 16 video artists from Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, Poland, Singapore and Sweden.

The participants explored their artistic creativity in an open field amid Plesungan village'€™s lush greenery. Jakarta-born Afrizal Malna, for instance, better known as a poet, writer and essayist, appeared with bamboo materials to display what he called '€œInside the Sharp'€.

The artist used bamboo strips, twigs and strings to form an installation resembling a cross. He began his piece by calmly approaching a bamboo stem driven into the ground where the installation was erected.

Afrizal then took out the one-meter-long bamboo and hugged it, rolling his body on the twig cross, thus wrecking his own installation.

'€˜Untitled'€™: Retno Sayekti Lawu (right) and Fitri Setyaningsih present Untitled.
The poet, whose verses frequently depict urban life and natural objects, said that he wished to convey the sensation of sharpness by the medium of bamboo. '€œI had to plunge my body into the structure of pointed twigs in order to feel how sharp they were.'€

Singaporean ceramic artist Jason Lim was also crossing media. '€œI continue to make ceramics while active in performance art,'€ he said.

Performance art, for Jason, is an alternative medium of expression. '€œDifferent ideas need dissimilar media to communicate,'€ Jason added. When things go awry, improvisations come to the fore, which was the case with Jason and his Italian partner Daniela Beltrani as they rendered '€œPlacebo1'€. '€œThe improvisations enhanced our show,'€ said Daniela.

The pair used a long rope and a bell hanging in the middle. They wound the rope around their bodies by spinning without gripping it, with Jason'€™s face and Daniela'€™s mouth bound. They kept rotating until they reached the bell, where the two struggled to undo their knots, ending the performance with a kiss.

'€œOriginally we meant to unite in the middle with the rope, but as we were absorbed in the act we found ourselves winding the rope beyond previous arrangements,'€ Daniella said. '€œOur improvisations turned out to be far more appealing.'€

The piece reflected the intricacy of life. '€œLife has its ups and downs '€” tense and relaxed moments. Sometimes we even have to give up, but that'€™s what life is. The bell in the middle represents time, which is precious in our life,'€ Jason pointed out.

Retno Sayekti Lawu, a theater artist from Solo, also improvised in her work Untitled performing with a peer while she had planned to appear solo. '€œFinally I decided to play with a partner, Fitri Setyaningsih, and I found it more satisfying.'€

Retno and Fitri alternately tied their bodies to two trees with seven reels of red string, eventually blindfolding themselves.

The artists said that they wanted to depict narrow-minded men who viewed life with their eyes closed, making their judgments only based on their own restricted outlooks. '€œIn fact, we live as members of a community, so we can'€™t judge something from our own viewpoint and should thus be more flexible,'€ Retno said.

Improvized: '€œFinally I decided to perform with a partner, Retno (left) said. '€œI found it more satisfying.'€ Retno and Fitri alternately Retno Sayekti Lawu (right) and Fitri Setyaningsih present '€œUntitled'€.
While AnA Wojak has performed at earlier editions of Undisclosed Territory #7, an the Polish-Australian artist said that she felt something different when presenting Sincerely yours at this year'€™s event. '€œI have my own impression every time I join this event. But so far Undisclosed Territory #7 has been a most special occasion.

Wojak said that she spent months preparing Sincerely yours - part 2 before performing in Karanganyar, collecting about a hundred love letters from a small village in a mountainous area near Sydney, Australia. '€œI asked local residents to write love letters to whomever they wanted '€” or even anonymous ones '€” and then I gathered the letters.

The letters Wojak brought to Karanganyar as part of her performance art were made available to spectators. '€œToday people prefer to communicate with modern means like the Internet, SMS, Twitter and so forth. Sometimes they forget the sensation of communication by sending love letters.'€

Wojak also presented Sincerely yours - part 1 during Undisclosed Territory #7. Dressed in white, the woman with cropped hair walked around the Performance Art Plesungan Laboratory, carrying a basket with sheets of red-stained paper, pointed palm-leaf sticks, perfume and flowers.

Along the way, Wojak halted several times, picking up a piece of paper, putting a flower on it and piercing it with a stick. At the end, paper sheets punctured with flowers could be found in all corners of the venue.

The works offered by the 56-year-old artist conveyed the idea that love is intricate. While it can be a pleasing experience, love may also be saddening and not infrequently very hurtful.

'€œLove is complicated,'€ Wojak said.

Bound: Ilham Baday presents his piece at Undisclosed Territory #7

'€” Photos by Ade Rizal