The Monoprint Solo Exhibition by Ariswan Adhitama
Date: 03 – 12 December 2010
Time: 10:00 – 21:00
Venue: Bentara Budaya Yogyakarta
Jl. Suroto No.2, Kotabaru, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Srisasanti Syndicate, in collaboration with Bentara Budaya Yogyakarta, present a Monoprint Solo Exhibition, entitled “In Repair”, featuring graphic works from Ariswan Adhitama, a young artist educated from the Indonesia Institute of Arts (ISI) Yogyakarta. Ariswan Adhitama a.k.a Nyameng, will feature approximately 11 of his monoprint artworks, plus with the negative of the print works. The exhibition is curated by Fery Oktanio. And added by the interesting writings of M. Dwi Marianto.
About Ariswan
Ariswan Adhitama is in the middle of a crucial point in his life. He obviously did not want to go back into the past. However, this graduate of Indonesian Arts Institute (ISI) Yogyakarta class of 2005, knows how to get rid of the remnants of memories and grudges that are buried deep in his heart. He was able to pass through a heavy and hard life that he lived a few years earlier and the belief that sometimes destroyed by the uncertain road of fate. He was even able to pass through it with a big victory. Ariswan would not ever think that the experience of changing schools, changing jobs, led him to become a rich man in heart and knowledge, and able to face the challenges ahead. Ariswan able to get through college, able to work with high confidence and perseverance, and reach achievements that may not be easily achieved by his peers. There is no coincidence in life and living. Ariswan proves that his resistance and hard work against a tough life, able to produce results that could be worth it.
In Repair Theme
In Repair or under construction, is the theme of Ariswan’s exhibition this time. Why In Repair? Since the story of life which want to be told by Ariswan is a dynamic process of his life against fate, and how all that meanings have become moments which define his next steps. Ariswan is tracing his life from the past to the point where he is now. In Repair, is his belief that the journey is not yet over, and many things still need repairing. His resistance which he first done to his hard life is manifested into futuristic imaginations where the idea of Super Human clearly surfaced. Super Human is his unconscious idea that emerged from his desire to always be strong, tough, and has the steel mentality to face various problems in life. Super Human is also his message of the limitation and the inability of human to rule and determine their own path of life.
Ariswan’s Robots
Meanwhile, Ariswan chooses the form of robot as his visual diction, as well as wants to show openly the scratch pattern of cutting knife in the complexity of the structural robotic body. These robots have two functions in Ariswan’s creative patterns this time. First, robots are a way for him to show how the meaning of hard, heavy and difficult becomes possible in a visual presentation and can be understood easily. Second, these robots show the role played by Ariswan in the overall visual language which told a story about him. These robots are a metaphor of what he faces, his anxiety, and what makes him strong, confident and trusting. These robots sometimes become his own self, sometimes become something that he faces, and sometimes is a representation of our humanity. Robots, where the idea of Super Human incarnates in Ariswan’s desire as a part of his attempt to survive and fight.
But a robot is still a robot. Robot has unnatural pride. On the other hand, submission is the main memory of the robot as an object of creation. Ariswan as a creature of creation, also has a natural tendency to bent down to the power greater than him. He is still not capable to fight against the road of fate to occur. His robots just wanted to show his struggle to fight back and take the core of all things. Ariswan, as well as his robots, are going through the process of understanding based on step by step, moment by moment, and they realize that they just got half way. They need not only time and tireless resistance. They still need, and still under construction.
Press Release by Fery Oktanio. Curator
More information:
info@srisasanti.com, srisasanti_gallery@yahoo.co.uk