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Koong Gallery in South Jakarta will this month showcase the talent and creativity of renowned Yogyakarta artist Moelyono.

His solo exhibition, “Topografi Ingatan” (“Memory Topography”), will feature “subjects who were victims of the violence and uncertainty of the [Indonesian] political conditions in 1965,” according to a statement by the gallery.

These “subjects” will include depictions of former members and leaders of organizations, political and otherwise, that were banned at the time. This includes people involved in wayang orang (human shadow puppet) theater, ludruk (a form of traditional theater involving contemporary settings) and members of Gerwani — a women’s Communist organization — who were often identified by their farmers’ hats.

“Topografi Ingatan” will feature paintings, the subjects’ recorded testimonials, as well as gamelan , which symbolizes “a means of kinship between the victims of the past,” according to the press release.

Moelyono, who was born in August 1959, studied painting at the School of Fine Arts and Design in Yogyakarta and graduated in 1985. In the late 1970s, he was already heavily involved in the local art scene, with exhibitions in Yogyakarta and Jakarta.

But it was not until the mid-1990s that Moelyono began to introduce his art to the international community. He took part in two exhibitions in Perth, Australia, in 1995 — “Torque” and “ARX4” — and soon began expanding into well-known galleries such as Tokyo’s Museum of Contemporary Art and the City Museum of Contemporary Art in Hiroshima. More exhibitions in Singapore, South Korea and Indonesia soon followed.

Event curator Hendro Wiyanto said he has admired Moelyono since the 1980s, when the artist began to make a name for himself with his “fine art of awareness.”

Hendro recounted Moelyono’s explanation that art is capable of “much more than a mere effort at compassion.”

Hendro said, “In art pieces that focus on ‘feelings,’ the artist is often said to be moved by the conditions of the poor, then uses his brush [to depict those feelings]. Moelyono believes that such an act — conscious or not — is a form of exploitation, or even manipulation, by the artist.”

“[The poor and unfortunate] simply become ‘objects of compassion,’ ” he added, explaining Moelyono’s artistic concept.

He said art that focused on “feelings” created a gap between the artist, the work and the subject; something the pieces in this exhibition aim to change.

Moelyono himself has said in the past that the responsibility of every artist is to create art forms that are rooted in traditional culture, the environment and everyday lifestyles — and that art should not simply be viewed as “social work.”

A 15-minute video-art installment titled “Ingatan Kawan-Kawan” (“Memories of Friends”) compiles interviews with the wayang orang theater members and ludruk performers. It provides insight into their artistic points of view, as well as their memories of the mid-1960s.

An installation titled “Jejak Bertahan” (“Traces of Survival”) exhibits, among other things, a rusty bicycle, as well as an old speaker and bullhorn, which were used by people for political orations as well as during the theater shows. Moelyono combines these items with a painting of a person with his hands over his mouth, perhaps to draw the viewer’s attention to the contrast between the items used and the forbidden practice of sharing one’s thoughts during that time.

The exhibition’s strongest pieces are the portraits of the subjects. These pieces represent the photorealism style of painting in their faithful depiction of the subjects’ facial features.

In “Wajah Petani” (“Faces of Farmers”), Moelyono paints two farmers with the same expression of contentment on their faces.

The artist also exhibits some of his illustrations, most notably a series of seven charcoal drawings of a former political prisoner, “Mbah” Cipling, who was detained for being affiliated with a Communist-related university organization. The drawings range from a detailed portrait to a sketch.

The pieces are reflective of the era and its victims. While knowledge of the country’s history could add to the viewer’s appreciation of the exhibition, the pieces themselves — especially the portraits — display an emotional quality that reflects Moelyono’s artistic intentions: To create pieces of art that do not simply emote compassion, but drive people to take action.
‘Topografi Ingatan’ (‘Memory Topography’)

Solo exhibition by Moelyono
Sept. 12–30
Lower Ground City Plaza at Wisma Mulia
Jl. Jenderal Gatot Subroto Kav. 42
Tel: 0816 932 770
E-mail: paladuren@yahoo.com
koonggallery.com