Staged at the lobby of the World Trade Center II building in South Jakarta, the Jakarta-based art consultancy ISA Art Advisory and PT Jakarta Land conducted an art exhibition by American and Indonesian artists Adam de Boer and Jumaldi Alfi, with a highlight on contemporary art and historical art traditions. The exhibition is open to the public until March 9.
Photo courtesy of ISA Art Advisory/NOW!JAKARTA
“Communities are to be distinguished, not by their falsity or genuineness, but in the style in which they are imagined.”
Inspired by these words of Benedict Anderson, the artworks of de Boer and Alfi reflect different – yet remarkably similar – interpretations of the “West and East” art experiences.
Born and raised in different cultures, both de Boer and Alfi showcased their interactive artworks by demonstrating a layered nature of identity and raising critical thinking about how one becomes part of either a contemporary art community or historical art tradition.
De Boer was born and raised in Southern California as Dutch-Indonesian-American, whilst Alfi was born in West Sumatra but has spent almost three decades in Yogyakarta.
Yogyakarta has long been Indonesia’s most important, renowned creative hub. It is where people live and breathe art. That is to say, for decades, it has always attracted enterprising artists from across Indonesia.
For Alfi, Yogyakarta is where he has spent much of his creative career path in the contemporary art collective industry. He enrolled at the Yogyakarta Fine Arts High School in 1989 and went on to pursue studies at the Indonesian Institute of Art in Yogyakarta, which then led him to national recognition. He is also a co-founder and member of Jendela Art Group, Indonesia’s most prominent contemporary art collective. Moreover, he is best known for his compelling personal iconography of visual signs that portray existential and spiritual experience at both individual and collective levels.
The exhibition is expected to raise critical thinking of what it really means to create legacies and stake claims to identities that are both real and imagined in the era of “global art”. A close examination of the layers within the “West and East” dichotomy shows that it’s more the component, rather than the origin of the artist, that defines the experience.
On the other hand, de Boer first became involved in Yogyakarta’s art scene through a residency at Cemeti Art Space, a popular gallery in the city. It also served as an opportunity for de Boer to continue the development of his art practice that was rooted in his Western education.
Photo courtesy of ISA Art Advisory/NOW!JAKARTA
Photo courtesy of ISA Art Advisory/NOW!JAKARTA
De Boer finished his study with a BA in Painting from the College of Creative Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara (2006) and also holds an MA in Fine Arts from the Chelsea of Art, London (2012). He’s currently exploring Java, as he continues to investigate his Eurasian heritage and participates in a residency in ISI Yogyakarta. Being part of Yogyakarta’s creative art industry, de Boer has had the chance to further deepen his understanding of artistic techniques like batik.
Whose Legacy?
The exhibition is expected to raise critical thinking of what it really means to create legacies and stake claims to identities that are both real and imagined in the era of “global art”. A close examination of the layers within the “West and East” dichotomy shows that it’s more the component, rather than the origin of the artist, that defines the experience.
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This article is originally from paper. Read NOW!Jakarta Magazine March 2018 issue “Design for Living”. Available at selected bookstore or SUBSCRIBE here.
