PARALLEL
EVENT
28 October – 3 December
The Parallel Event Program aims to explore the diversity of art practices and discourses in the city along with the actors. To support the main exhibition, Parallel Event becomes the space of dialog that summarizes every idea about ‘biennale’ and accommodates the active participations of local art spaces and actors in comprehending the big idea and discourse of the Equator series of Biennale Jogja. In the previous Biennale Jogja, Parallel Event focused more on the ‘creation of visual art events’ by opening the opportunity for each community to create a series of interdisciplinary art projects that compulsorily engaged public participation in an organized mechanism. This time, Parallel Event offers something new.Parallel Event now arranged the program by proactively engaging more art spaces and communities in a wider scale—with diverse art perspectives, practices, and ideologies—in the social scene of visual art in Yogyakarta. Such format is selected to enrich the knowledge on the complexity of the equatorial areas through the collaborative networking and partnership with the art spaces and communities in Yogyakarta. On the other hand, this format is about to optimize the potential interconnectivity between conceptual and practical elements of knowledge and to celebrate the rendezvous with Brazil.
The participation of various art spaces and communities is important to establish a common understanding that art can be seen as a decentralized knowledge production. Based on this conceptual framework, dialog, networking, and partnership are set to be the mission of Biennale Jogja XIV Parallel Event in a continuous effort to establish the vision of sustainable democratization of art. Various ideas are reflected in the series of art events during the BJ XIV Parallel Event. Some art spaces put the issues they are enthusiastic about into various practices of exhibition.
The initiative of young artists to take action is continuously promoted by Ace House Collective, a collective of young visual artists born from the triggering idea of ‘the creation of visual art event’ and the stimulus to build an interdiciplinary collaboration in the first Parallel Event Program of Biennale Equator in 2011. They refer back to the street art movement in Yogyakarta through the exhibition After All These Year. Perahu Art Connection, a collective of young artists, holds an exhibition entitled Tetris at Galeri Fadjar Sidik around the Indonesian Institute of the Arts (ISI), Yogyakarta. Meanwhile, a group of Balinese young visual artists, Sakapat, holds an exhibition entitled Insomnia at Indie Art House. The artists in residency at Grafis Minggiran also display their works in Moving On at ViaVia Art Space.
The initiative to put the history and career of the exemplary senior artists is realized by Sanggar Dewata Indonesia through the exhibition of Tribute to Maestro I Nyoman Gunarsa at PKKH – UGM. A collective exhibition by IKASSRI (Ikatan Keluarga Alumni Sekolah Seni Rupa Indonesia [Association of Indonesian Fine Arts School Alumni], Yogyakarta) at Pendhapa Art Space shares the experience and spirit of visual art in Yogyakarta during 80s as well as the long history and the creative process of Komunitas Sanggar Bambu narrated by R.J. Katamsi Gallery—an art space initiated by the Indonesian Institute of the Arts—Yogyakarta to facilitate the studies on art and art creation. Furthermore, Kiniko Art Space (SaRanG Building II) exhibits the sketches made by Gunawan Muhamad, a cultural thinker known for his essays in Catatan Pinggir rubric. Taman Tino Sidin celebrates the 92nd birthday of the late ‘national drawing teacher’, Pak Tino Sidin, by holding an exhibition that involves a number of established artists.
The tactics and strategies demonstrated by individual artists in dealing with daily issues are exhibited in some spaces. Indie Art House comes up with the solo installation project entitled Menanam Air (Planting Water) by I Wayan Sudarna Putra, and the one titled Ronce by Maslihar Panjul. Kedai Kebun Forum holds Sebelum Gendang (Before the Drum), a Solo Exhibition of Julian ‘Togar’ Abraham. Galeri Fadjar Sidik exhibits Ali Umar’s artworks in Sejuta Cerita Ali Umar (Million Tales of Ali Umar). Kebun Bibi opens a solo exhibition of Prihatmoko Moki with the title Prajurit Kalah Tanpa Raja (The Soldiers Lose without the King) and a mural project entitled Kiss On The Wall Project #19 by Trianto Kintoko. Redbase Foundation exhibits Raul Renanda’s artworks in a solo exhibition entitled Anak Sumatra in the Land of Java. Just like Kebun Bibi that initiates mural project, Redbase Foundation dares Isrol Media Legal to present his mural works. Around the area of Nitikan, INiSeum presents The Indonesia Idea, an art project created by the owner, Galam Zulkifli, that speaks out about the matters of national identity and questions the essence and the ideal of being Indonesian.
The voices from art collectives in different ideologies and issues are also presented in the Parallel Event. Gerimis Ungu, for instance, with the concern for environmental issues, analyzes the matter of identity experienced by Indonesian people (similar to Galam Zulkifli) and articulate it through a presentation entitled Negeri Cinta Kita (Indonesia) at PKKH-UGM. Women’s issues regarding art spoken out continuously by Pereks (Perempuan Eksperimental/Experimental Women) are reprocessed into the newest form of art project exhibited at Kersan Art Space. Meanwhile, the domestic issues faced by women are put forward by the collective of female artists in Yogyakarta through Bumbon #3: Lost and Found at Art Merdeka. Women’s issues are offered by Nalarroepa Art Space in the exhibition project worked on by young female visual artists under the title Fragment Kecil (Small Fragment).
The specific issue regarding the value of an artwork amid the social scene of art along with the tensions and polemics around it (patron, market) is interpreted by SAKATO community. This collective of Minangkabau artists present Collector’s Choices in the ‘post exhibition presentation’. The wave of the extra-regional artists inward and outward Yogyakarta to collaborate with the local artists and try out the art scene in Yogyakarta for appreciation is narrated in Body – Scape, the project pointed out by Ruang Dalam Art House. This space presents the technical expertise and artistic craftsmanship of the artists from Malang and Yogyakarta in various concepts and visual styles.
The crafts, along with their unique materials and techniques, are selected by Galeri Lorong to be included in the contemporary art study through Fragile collective exhibition. Similar thing is also carried out by Dyah Retno through her solo ceramic exhibition at Pendhapa Art Space. Contemporary art practice with intermaterial approach is presented as well in Sub Jedhor by Angrok Art Club at The Great Mosque of Mataram complex and a collective exhibition by Lintang Raditya, Rudi Atjeh, and Sambunghambar at Ark Galerie.
The discussion on the choice to establish a network with foreign art social scene to build synergy and art in global realm is facilitated by Langgeng Art Foundation in the exhibition entitled A Different Way of Painting; A Different Way of Thinking About Painting. This exhibition facilitates the painters from Continental Asia and Europe to share their perspective on the conceptual study in the art of painting. The efforts to establish dialog and exchange perspective on art between regions are also promoted by ViaVia Art Space through Diplomacy of Triviality exhibition. Holding the same spirit, Jogja Contemporary also puts Dongeng Tanah (Tale about Land) into the collaborative art practice between Cibele (an artist in diaspora from Brazil), Sisir Tanah, and Survive! Garage collective. The artworks of Maraike Jacobi – Joshua Zienlinky, the artists in residency program held by SaRanG Building I, are also put into exhibition. Moreover, the Miracle Art Print guerrilla, pioneered by Syahrizal Pahlevi, the initiator of Jogja International Mini Print Biennale, again engages printmakers from various countries to join Saludos Graf!.
In addition, the literary appreciation space with a long history and continually merged with visual art is presented by Green Art Space through Writing From The World, a contemporary poetry exhibition. The young literary activists involved in Ngopinyastro come up with a pilgrimage mission to track the history of the local literature in Yogyakarta with 3 repertoires, Ngopinyastro Anjangsana: Napak Tulis Malioboro at a corner of Malioboro, Ngopinyastro Anjangsana: Napak Tulis Tamansiswa around the area of the University of Tamansiswa, and Ngopinyastro Anjangsana: Napak Tulis Papan Tilas at Warung Boto Royal Cemetery, Yogyakarta.
A series of workshop, film screening, and discussion are also held by each space during the Parallel Event. These activities become an interesting spaces to read the daily reality and the polemics widespread in our social scene of art, as we can see in the presentation of Getok Tular Project by Omnispace at Kedai Kebun Forum, the film screening and informal discussion held by Ruang Mes 56 in cooperation with FFD and Bakudapan Food Studies under the title Hibridos, one episode of their serial program Café Society, the presentation and workshop on visual art held by Raintree Gallery with the title Trees Project, and Read To Me, in which 6 comic artists are challenged by Krack! Studio to read aloud their own works. Something interesting also takes place at Kebun Bibi in the No limit Werkshop program with The Mas Rembo, in which the audiences are free to pick the workshop material based on their own interests.
Parellel Event also engages the high education institutions of art to analyze the issues arising from the practices of Biennale Jogja XIV through various exhibitions, workshops, and directed discussion. Pendhapa Art Space initiates the exhibition of the photographs worked on by LENSA, the photography club of Ahmad Dahlan University, and also opens the place for the artworks from SERUFO, the community of visual art and photography of Yogyakarta State University, and puts them on the exhibition entitled Leuit. On the other side, the Gallery of the Postgraduate Program of the Indonesian Institute of the Arts, Yogyakarta conducts an analysis on the participatory art phenomenon, which is the signature characteristic of Parallel Event, through a series of exhibition projects and discussion on visual arts under the title Antroposophy. (HH)