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A mirror for themselves
Artist: Eko NugrohoThey are young, have their eyes set on contemporary artwork and are generous enough to share with the public their collections
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Artist: Eko Nugroho
They are young, have their eyes set on contemporary artwork and are generous enough to share with the public their collections.
Ten Jakartan professionals, most of them in their late 20s, filled the Ruci Art Space in Senopati, South Jakarta, with installations, sculptures, paintings and photography crafted by Indonesian and international artists.
Y:Collect runs from Jan. 30 through to Feb. 15.
'For me personally collecting art represents the support of an artistic practice that I find myself admiring. It's in supporting these artists, in purchasing the artwork, that we are able to allow these artists to continue to explore these ideas further,' said Junior Tirtadji, one of the collectors.
Jun, 25, an art gallery worker and director of ROH Projects, also shared his views in a video interview with the contemporary art collectors for visitors to watch during the exhibition.
The video room is located on the second story of the art gallery.
Other collectors include Adhia Absar Arryman, Kinez Riza, Marissa Soeryadjaya, Natasha Sidharta, Nicholas Tan, Resida Irmine and Aryadi Jaya, Tom Tandio and Winda Malika Siregar.
Jun brought a work of Wiyoga Muhardanto titled Distinctive Item that he bought at the Hong Kong International Art Fair in 2012 that he said 'hits social absurdities'.
Among his exhibited works are a three-legged wooden chair titled Coagulation #5 by Faisal Habibi and a painting of tiny alien creatures titled Untitled #5 by Syaiful Aulia Garibaldi.
A philosophy graduate, Jun said he had started collecting contemporary artwork when he was 20, eying pieces with social messages.
'Normally, contemporary art focuses on the zeitgeist or those events that occur directly in the now or in the contemporary times that we live in.'
He said that each piece of his collection was priced between US$ 1,000 and $5,000, which was not much according to him for a preserving the mementos of an era.
Adhia, 31, the owner of Umara Catering, displayed Pintor Sirait's Democracy (2009) a stainless steel race car with jargons of democracy etched on it.
He also brought Eddie Hara's painting Mickey's Dead (2004) and Heri Dono's Reconciliation (2012) to the exhibition.
Adhia started collecting in 2001 with a painting by Putu Sutawijaya.
'To this day I'm not sure why I become a collector. It's just that when I like an artwork I want to be able to always enjoy its presence,' said Adhia who had up to 80 pieces of art, mostly sculptures and paintings, at home.
Have been exposed to both fine and contemporary art during his childhood in Paris, Adhia said that there were two main elements found on his collections: made by artists with distinctive signature and that they have value that cannot be measured in currency.
Photography artist Kinez Riza has her own reason for collecting art.
As an art student in London, Kinez bought art books and cut out the pages she liked and framed them.
'As soon as I found work, I started buying the collectible works, such as box sets or magnum contact sheets, which are much more affordable,' said the 25-year-old, adding that she often asked her parents and siblings to chip in so she could buy herself a birthday gift.
'I choose photography because I speak the same visual language. My collection is actually a mirror of myself,' said Kinez, who also sells her collectible artwork.
'I collect things that are meaningful to me. If you love it, it must be meant for you.'
For Y: Collect she brought three of a set of five photos of Mars' surface by Xavier Barral that she purchased at an exhibition in Amsterdam last year.
One piece of the Mars: A Photographic Exploration (2013) was kept at her parents' home while she gifted another one to the leader of research on human origins at the Natural History Museum in London.
'The works would take me to an emotional landscape and it's really wonderful to be able to wake up to the things that reminded me of who I am.'
Tommy Sibarani of Ruci Art Space said that there has been a trend of young people looking out for the country's contemporary art scene.
'It's not a new lifestyle trend. As soon as the contemporary art scene developed, they started collecting without knowing. This exhibition fits our goal of bringing art closer to the unexposed because public appreciation is what keeps the artists going on.'
Adhia said he was a bridge between artists and the public. 'By sharing art collections with the public, more people can appreciate the artists and quality artworks. And, hopefully, people can start to collect, too.'
