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Seismic Cities raises disaster mitigation awareness through art
Devastation 360: A visitor sees the aftermath of an earthquake in Palu, Central Sulawesi, through a virtual reality headset
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evastation 360: A visitor sees the aftermath of an earthquake in Palu, Central Sulawesi, through a virtual reality headset. The 360-degree imagery was developed by Coventry University professor Gavin Brent Sullivan.
Artists and scientists from Indonesia, Chile and the United Kingdom join forces to remind the public of the importance of disaster mitigation in the Seismic Cities exhibition.
The exhibition runs from April 19 to 29 at the Orbital Dago, Bandung.
Artist Deni Ramdani, better known as Ackay Deni, represents Indonesia in the exhibition with his installation In Fault. Ackay created a male figure, which was molded out of his body and suspended it in the air.
The entire figure is covered with a wide map of greater Bandung, which shows a red line stretching from Mount Palintang in eastern Bandung to Padalarang regency in the west. The red line signifies the Lembang Fault, a major risk haunting at least 2.5 million people living in the area.
The installation is based on the Lembang fault expedition, which Ackay, other artists, as well as professionals in geography, natural resources and disaster mitigation took part in. The team tracked the 29-kilometer fault for four days.
Gelar Taufiq Kusumawardhana, a geographer from the Indonesia University of Education, Bandung, said the expedition was aimed at gathering data and information on the phenomena surrounding the fault and developing better disaster mitigation plans.
Though the fault is nothing new to scientists, most of the residents of Bandung and its surroundings have yet to fully realize the fault’s earthquake risks.
Ackay and other artists were included in the expedition in the hope they could convey the fault’s danger and disaster mitigation preparedness in a more appealing way to the public.
“Through art, the scientific discourse can be more easily conveyed without losing its essence,” Gelar explained.
The Bandung exhibition is part of the Seismic Cities multidisciplinary research project supported by the British Academy, the Resilience Development Initiative and Coventry University’s Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations.
Rifky Effendi, Orbital Dago’s owner, said the exhibition was meant to share stories of earthquakes, which were still deemed unimportant by most people.
“Each of the artists discussed earthquake topics in a unique way by applying their knowledge to a certain place or experience. Earthquakes are understood as something profound and intimate, as a reminder of our interdependent relations with the environment in which we live,” he said.
The exhibition also features the works of Constanza Alarcón Tennen and Sebastián Riffo Valdebenito — both from Santiago and Emma Critchley from Brighton, England.
Critchley presents a video art entitled Natural Contract, depicting the traces of ancient lake Bandung that forms present day Bandung city.
“The film is about observing the relationship between people and the environment and nature,” she said.
“I’m just quite interested in how the images play off on each other. I don’t want to use too many languages in it, so it would be more about sounds and imagery.”
Valdebenito offers 16 drawings portraying the postearthquake ruins in Santiago in 2010. With his monochrome pictures, Valdebenito seems to caution that such devastation may reoccur in the absence of any mitigation efforts.
Gavin Brent Sullivan, a social and political psychology professor from Coventry University, invites visitors to put on virtual reality glasses to see closely the aftermath of the earthquakes that rocked Palu, Central Sulawesi last year.
“The idea is to immerse [visitors] in an earthquake environment. You’re able to look around. It’s upsetting, it’s hard to look away,” Sullivan said.
He expressed hope that visitors could understand the importance of disaster mitigation with their families, communities and city.
“We’d better be prepared and more resilient. That’s the main aim,” added Gavin.
The exhibition does not only showcase art but also gives things to ponder about, such as: What if a disaster strikes right after we have read this story?
— Photos by JP/Arya Dipa
