The interdisciplinary collaboration between poet and author Goenawan Mohamad and renowned painter Muhammad Hanafi has piqued the attention of the art community. Their distinctive visual creation,“57 x 76” exhibit, is on display at National Gallery of Indonesia.
This collaboration opens up the possibility of combing thought processes on one canvas. As visitors enter the gallery, a series of paintings that visualise webbing (Anyaman) in vertical and diagonal lines greets them, which further identifies Hanafi and Goenawan Mohamad's signature brush strokes.
Goenawan Mohamad, the founder and editor in chief of Tempo magazine, developed his interest in fine arts by working with Sanggar Bambu, an art gallery in Yogyakarta.
Muhammad Hanafi has collaborated with fellow artists, as well as with interdisciplinary artists, such as writers, musicians, and performing artists. In 1999, He built his own artspace, Studiohanafi.
The coincidental meeting between the two at the Ministry of Education and Culture programme " Learn with Maestro" led to discussions of collaborative projects. Curated by Agung Hujatnikajennong, 80 paintings on paper and canvas are exhibited which were selected from more than 200 artworks, along with three art installations.
These two perspectives engage on one canvas, showing the freedom of its creator to construct a dialogue between “destruction” and “interpolation”. Gonawan involvement doesn't ruin everything what Hanafi starts for. Mohamad describes his work as the metamorphosis of lines, shapes and colours
"In this collaboration we do not talk much, there is no discussion of concepts. He only sent his work to me. I think he trusted me and he believe that It will not be bad if I add the lines, colours and shapes. Each of us goes directly into the work we are facing, and a respond in a way that is like an intuitive dialogue," Mohamad said.
In general, the artworks are inclined towards Hanafi’s signature work which are monochromatic, erotic, suggestive and surrealistic forms. As Goenawan plays with lines, shapes and colours, visitors may want to identify each distinctive work is manifested on canvas.
Some may see Hanafi and Goenawan Mohamad's clear signature from series of EROTIKA (2018) which are acrylic painted on paper, or PICASSO 03 (2018) which created on 57 x 76 cm dimension. The exhibiti includes work of GOJEK Indonesia CEO Nadiem Makarim’s collection from Hanafi and Goenawan Mohamad 57 x 76 collaborative works.
Hanafi and Goenawan Mohamad use the unmeasured method but practice the method of games where Mohamad starts painting first and Hanafi continues. "Like reading a novel from the middle page, our work encourages visitors to continuously guess the end and beginning. But a canvas has many doors, more than a novel has," Hanafi said.
57 x 76 Art exhibition is on display at National Gallery of Indonesia until 2 July.
