Mereka-reka
17 Mei 2017 - 17 Juni 2017
In this exhibition, Maharani Mancanegara and Zulfian Amrullah use wood as the material. Yet, they have different perspectives and methods in crafting the material. Maharani, in all of her works, always utilizes reclaimed Pinewoods she obtained from delivery or container companies. According to her, Pinewood has different characteristics, based on its age and origin. Looks fragile, it is actually firm. Rani said that she prefers the wood from Europe for it is straighter and yellowish-white in color, giving the impression of old photograph when treated using charcoal. She considers that the vintage coloring fits the idea of her work, which responds to historical issues. On the other hand, the Pinewood from Asia, in her opinion, tends to be more wet, twisty, and reddish.
Adek Dimas Ajisaka presents works made from leaves in this exhibition. He uses dry leaves, a quite tricky material to handle due to its fragile texture and its fast decomposition—early challenges that Dimas must overcome before treating the material using the cut-out technique: cutting certain parts of the leaves to create a hole in shape of a line or other objects.
According to Nindityo, material exploration is a technique to approach the craftspeople’s social reality. The products of rattan, for instance, have been controlled by big industries. The industrial working model encourages the workers to work mainly on the same design from time to time. Such a working model makes the people work like a robot (automaton), resulting in static material exploration. Nindityo offers a model design which is completely different from the design for industrial purposes. Due to his strange design, the technical working process also becomes more intricate. He tries to challenge the craftspeople to explore their potentials in technical exploration.
At least through this exhibition we can re-reflect the urgency of materiality in art. The meaning of an art work is also determined by the elements used in its realization.