Marcel Thee

Works of the 99 artists on display at the National Gallery include “Get Out!” by Irawan Banuaji. (JG Photo)

National Identity in a Globalized World

Displaying the works of 99 selected painters, sculptors as well as video and installation artists from 21 provinces in Indonesia, the National Gallery of Indonesia’s Fine Arts Exhibition, “Consider Your Roots,” addresses national identity in an era of globalization.

The head of the National Gallery, Tubagus “Andre” Sukmana, said that Indonesia had been greatly affected by globalization and that national identity was being lost. He said the artists had embraced the theme, “Consider Your Roots,” in a positive way and had produced a diverse collection of art.

Many of the pieces deal with the struggle between tradition and modernity; some portray victory, while others express a sense of compromise or defeat.

Machfudz’s oil painting titled “Di Antara Kemewahan” (“In Between Luxury”) is of kue pepe — a wheat-based pancake akin to the French crêpe — on top of piles of food packaging from international fast food chains, such as KFC and McDonald’s. Machfudz, who is from Semarang, Central Java, said that his work signified the strength of traditional values in the modern world.

North Sumatran artist Irawan Banuaji’s painting “Get Out!” depicts a man in traditional Javanese clothing pushing away a giant cup with a picture of Uncle Sam on it. Written on the painting is: “Back to where your flavor is … Back to Malioboro country” — a play on the American cigarette brand Marlboro and Jalan Malioboro, the main shopping street in Yogyakarta .

Some artists chose to focus on the decline of Indonesia’s cultural values.

Donny Kurniawan’s acrylic painting “Di Pojokan Kota” (“In the City’s Corners”) depicts a figure in a diving suit underwater. The painting is set in the old part of Jakarta, which is desolate and barren, evoking a feeling of loss.

Jakarta’s art collective Forum Lenteng contributed a 14-minute video titled “Andy Ask.” The video shows numerous illegal advertisements displayed on Jakarta’s public walls, electric poles and other surfaces. The advertisements are mostly brief descriptions, for example “Guitar lessons” or “English language lessons” accompanied by a phone number. In the video, Andy — a representative from Forum Lenteng — calls the numbers and asks mundane questions regarding their services.

Otty Widasari, a Forum Lenteng spokesperson, said that the homogeneous and forgettable nature of the advertisements represented members of society who were discarded into the mass consciousness of the world when they are no longer needed by those in power.

Curator Kuss Indarto said he hoped that the exhibition would help the artists gain recognition and reintroduce art as a medium to measure Indonesia’s cultural and traditional values. 

 
Fine Arts Exhibition: “Consider Your Roots”
Curated by Kuss Indarto
May 20-31
10 a.m.-7 p.m. 

National Gallery
Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur No. 14, Central Jakarta

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