The cultural identity that’s formed in the life of society will affect the self-perception of each of its members. How they see themselves, how they act and behave, are greatly influenced by the cultural identity that surrounds them.
Artists always have various ways of creating works of art. The process of creating art is often closely related to the identity carried by the artist. It’s also experienced by Udeido Collective, one of the artist communities participating in the Biennale Jogja XVI Equator #6 2021. It consists of young Papuan artists who explore various social and humanities phenomena that occur in Papua and package them in the form of visual art.
Udeido’s work at the XVI Jogja Biennale responds to Koreri. According to the Papuans’ belief, Koreri is a space for spirit as well as a cultural identity.
The local community believes the spirit space is a place where Papuans go to and settle after their deaths. Spirit space can take form in a conceptual imaginary space and in some tribes became factual spaces. The spirit space can also be found in forests, islands, large mountains, caves, and other places.
Stuart Hall (1994) once said identity is something imaginary or imagined wholeness. An identity arose due to doubts enforced by external forces of each individual. Identity itself is an embodiment of imagination seen by certain interconnected parties within.
“Koreri Projection” is a headline chosen by the Udeido Collective for their work. This work tries to present a picture of the journey of the human entities of Papua to Koreri. Five Udeido Collective artists, Betty Adii, Nelson Natkime, Costaninus Raharusun, Yanto Gombo, Dicky Takndare, and Michael Yan Devis, presented the Koreri or spirit space. Their works try to build a projection of a physical and spiritual journey, from the ruins of the ruined land of Papua to entering the eternal Koreri.
It is common knowledge that Papuan women face many challenges in life. They are often victims of multi-layered human rights violations. This occurred because of the political history of Papua, either directly because they become victims of militarism, or indirectly through their husbands’ political activities.
In 2013 and 2018, Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR) conducted Participatory Action Research (PAP) on the situation of indigenous Papuan women. They invited 249 women from various regions in Tanah Papua to share their life stories and talk about the violence they experienced. Through this identification, they found evidence that domestic violence and various state violence related to the Papuan political conflict were the most common violence against indigenous Papuan women.
Betty Adii is the only female artist who took part in “Koreri Projection” Betty’s work stands out among the works of other Udeido artists: bullets resembling male genitalia, which pierced through women’s underwear.
Betty’s work represents the sexual violence experienced by Papuan women perpetrated by the military. The incident was quite traumatic for the Papuan people, especially women. Many children born from this sexual violence end up questioning their identity.
So many Papuan women experience various forms of abuse in their lives. The abuse also happens because of a patriarchal culture that renders women with no rights, subjecting women to domestic violence. But it’s also caused by capitalism which constantly exploits, discriminates, and makes women into sexual objects. These matters are also backed by colonialism, seen as the source of poverty that burdens women with more weight until they become marginalized.