Gatot Indrajati’s “Right or Wrong My Home” is Southeastasian Painting of the Year
Gatot Indrajati, “Right or Wrong My Home”, 2016, Mixed Media (Acrylic and Metal), On Wood, 162 x 70 cm.
With his painting “Right or Wrong My Home” the Indonesian artist Gatot Indrajati won the “Painting of the Year” competition of the United Overseas Bank (UOB) for the second time since 2011. For the second time his work is celebrated as the overall winner of the four participating countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand). Together with the Award Gatot Indrajati receives 10,000 USD for the Southeast Asian Painting of the Year and 25,000 USD for winning the Indonesian category “Painting of the Year”. The winner is also given the opportunity to attend a residency program at Fukuoka Asian Art Museum in Japan. The jury is selected by the UOB and consists of art curators, artists and art professors from each of the participating country.
In Indrajati’s work we see an urban landscape in which people with no individual features walk through the crowded streets. The proportions are in disorder. The people are taller than cars, others correspond in size to what the viewer would call realistically; huge animal- figures fly around. In the bus at the left-hand-side we witness a rubbery which can be seen by the male figure that shows his knife. None of the pedestrians takes notice. A machine seems to control all activities at the cross-section behind the bus. Sea-animals fly through the streets; an astronaut tries to balance on one of the overland-cables. Some graffiti refer to social media platforms. The brown cat on the wood panel in the foreground seems to be the only living creature in the art work.
But why wood as material in this sterile scenario? Wood is a traditional material and it is Indrajati’s favourite material. He draws sketches on the pieces of wood and then carves the wooden figures into objects and decorative figures. The three-dimensional effect is created by painting the objects on the wooden panel and then pasting the wooden figures in multiple layers onto the panel.
But in which city are we actually? Can we tell? Are there any objects or places so that we can connect this city landscape with a specific place on earth? No, we can’t! The people in this art work seem to have no identity and the city itself doesn’t have either. In a city or in a world where social media creates the relations between people going through national borders, the actual space they are living in, becomes less relevant. “Home” then becomes a fluid spatial entity which is formed by sentiments, memories and habits.[1] Indrajati explains:
“In every nation, a city is inhabited by people with diverse social standing. The city becomes a symbol, or characteristic of a nation with cultural behaviour of its kind: A center of economy, governance, culture and crime. Foreign cultures flourish through the spread of digital technology, a new lifestyle, language, and a mindset that shapes the flock of citizens to behave similarly. Unconsciously, they turn into a robotic mode. As a nation that has undergone multiple life events, there is an attitude that we should be proud of; to survive and rise from the ordeal. Right or wrong my home.”
The title of the work reminds of the old patriotic saying “Right or wrong, my country!” In the same sense here in work Indrajati gives a reason why it is so important to have an identity as a nation and to not switch into “robotic-mode” and loosing individualtiy. By saying that, he is touching an important issue which is discussed a lot these days in Indonesia: How – with that many different cultures in Indonesia – can an Indonesian identity be found? What is the Indonesian identity? The answer is: Its plurality and diversity.[2
The lack of cultural institutions in Indonesia
When hearing about the UOB-competition, I was wondering: Is there no museum or cultural institution that can carry out a cultural event of that size? The answer is: NO. No, because no governmental structure for artistic education in Indonesia is existing. Out of this lack it is good that artists can participate in events like the UOB-contest to find an audience in order to receive access to the art market. Some private collectors also feel responsible and support young artists.[1] Without governmental institutions and official cultural political guidelines, there is no public space for global art. ALL activities and actions to absorb this lack are left to the private sector.
I can’t wait to introduce you to the other interesting Indonesian artists and topics and winners of the “Painting of the Year” contest in the next posts…
Biography Gatot Indrajati
Indrajati was born in 1980 and studied at the Indonesian Arts Institute (ISI) in Yogyakarta/ Java. Since then he participated in several exhibitions in Singapore, China and South Korea and won several awards. In the first minutes of this video you can have a look at Indrajati’s atelier:
[1] Painting of the Year-Catalogue, published by UOB, 2016, p. 11.
[2] See Spielmann, p. 16.
[3] See Spielmann, p. 16.
Picture by: UOB and Video: http://www.uobpoy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/REGIONAL-ONLINE-360-smaller.mp4