The highway snaked around the exhibition room, its meandering paths like a roadmap of chaos and destruction. A wreck of a sailing ship rested on a tennis racket while two motorcycles peeked out from a pair of sneakers.

Stone pestles, mortars, bottles and old household items lay nearby, along with dirt seemingly from construction sites or landfills. Yet there was a method to the madness for this mixed media and video projection piece, titled Sasana Gelung (Coiling Arena) by its creator, Indonesian contemporary artist Maharani Mancanagara.

“[Sasana Gelung] chronicles the evolution of our civilization, from Stone Age tools to wooden utensils, scientific inventions, books, and various forms of transportation, as well as sports,” said art handler Nico Trisnando of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) alumnus’ work. The piece was previously shown at the ArtJakarta exhibition.

“These twists and turns show that our journey to the present day is not a linear process. Aside from functional items, the work shows how we fulfill our emotional well-being through hobbies, pets and leisure has similarly changed, as shown through the bird cages.”

A hub for contemporary Indonesian arts

Sasana Gelung headlined hundreds of contemporary Indonesian artworks featured in Berkelanjutan (Sustainability), the exhibition’s theme at the District Seni (Art District) X, a new art gallery in Sarinah, Jakarta’s oldest department store. 

“Berkelanjutan is the second theme to be used by Distrik Seni X Sarinah and will last from September to November. It replaced the theme of Berdikari [Standing on One’s own feet], which lasted from [Distrik Seni X’s] soft opening last June to August,” Nico asserted. “The themes are changed every three months, so it will only be changed next December.”

The gallery noted that the 30 Indonesian artists and art collectives featured in Berkelanjutan stood out because of “their strong and distinct characters, as well as their unique interpretation of the idea of [artistic] sustainability through the point of view of local cultures […] The artists also support [Distrik X Sarinah’s] development of a sustainable artistic ecosystem and its standing as a cultural hub.”

Distrik X Sarinah creative director Farah Wardani noted that the theme of sustainability “can be interpreted and intertwined with the environment, ideas and a sustainable economy, as well as the arts ecosystem”.

As a hub for contemporary art that reflects the times, Moch. Hasrul’s In Matters of Bibitulit, There Can Be Distortion” strikes a particular vein. Made in 2018, the interactive installation piece features four public address megaphones producing increasingly different tones as one puts a foot on their respective pedals.

“[In Matters of Bibitulit, There Can Be Distortion] touches on misinformation and disinformation, as information is interpreted and misinterpreted differently as it gets passed on from one person to another,” Nico said.

“In the end, the misinformation, disinformation and miscommunication that follows make the information radically different from the start of its dissemination.”

Yet Hasrul took the meaning of the work beyond the miscommunication or misunderstanding that often occurred in individual interactions. Hasrul, a research and development researcher at the Gudskul art collective, said that the made-up term bibitulit was an all-encompassing “voice of power”.

“Contemporary society is rife with distorted information. Power is also a growing dilemma for humanity,” he noted. “There are certain political elements who make use [of distorted information] for their advantage […] Power is used to spread [dis]information, no matter how distorted.”

The premise is familiar following the divisiveness of the 2014 and 2019 presidential races and the Jakarta gubernatorial race in 2017.

Shattered preconceptions

The steel and aluminum mural enlivened the wall of the Soekarno Gallery, a section of Distrik Seni X showing the art of preeminent Indonesian artists like Heri Dono and Jay Soebiyakto. The frangipani flowers that were sharply painted and colored with car paint seemed to symbolize tranquility, an effect shattered by the oval-shaped football piercing the piece’s center. Titled Football for Justice, the work conveyed a harsh reality check for its creator Entang Wiharso,

“Entang was affected by the racism he saw firsthand in the United States while studying there. The racism shattered the rosy preconceptions that he had had of the country,” Nico said of the 55-year-old recipient of the 2020 Guggenheim Fellowship Award, whose work was featured in the Prague and Venice Biennales as well as other exhibitions in Indonesia and around the world.

His observations were backed by the Indonesian Art Institute (ISI)-educated sculptor’s statement of the work.

“[Football for Justice] voices issues of racism through the world of sports, in this case reflecting on American football. Before the match, some players took a moment of silence on their knees, [even as] the vast majority [of their peers] stood for the national anthem, as an act of resistance to all forms of racism.”

Football for Justice perhaps alluded to former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision to kneel out of protest against racial inequality and police brutality, a stance taken by several National Football League (NFL) players in the face of widespread condemnation from conservatives in the country.

On the other hand, Dawai-dawai Dewa Budjana (The Strings of Dewa Budjana), an exhibition of guitars used by the Bali-born guitar maestro, took an art for art’s sake approach. The show highlighted guitars used by the 59-year-old lead guitarist of Indonesian rock band GIGI, such as the Parker Fly Deluxe, Taylor T5 and Yamaha APX, between 2007 and 2010.

However, their function gave way to form, as the instruments became the canvas for Indonesian artists such as Agus Suwage, Heri Dono and Sri Astari Rasyid.

Indonesian playwright Goenawan Muhamad opined in his piece Rupa, Suara, Dewa Budjana (Form, Voices, Dewa Budjana) that the guitars reflected how “Budjana is one of very few [Indonesian] musicians that are close to visual arts”. Goenawan says it is perhaps due to Dewa Budjana’s upbringing in Bali, “where various art forms converge in one place, namely the stage”.

“These [artistic] impulses are brought together in the forms, colors, and guitars that reflect Dewa Budjana’s music. There is joy, tension, discovery and longing [in the music]. Most of all: [there is a need] to be free.”

While freedom of self-expression is essential for the arts, Berkelanjutan and its themes of sustainability and continuity are just as crucial.

'Berkelanjutan'

District Seni X Sarinah

Until Nov. 24

Sarinah department store, 6th floor

Jl. M.H. Thamrin no. 11, Menteng, Jakarta 10350

Open daily 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Tickets: Rp 50,000

Website: distrikseni.com

Email: artistik@distrikseni.com

Instagram: @distrik.seni

Youtube: Distrik Seni

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