Titik Nyeri (Point Of Pain, 2007) on the other hand, is a relatively more abstract work. It employs a visual idiom reminiscent of Surrealism, in particular the vaguely disquieting works of Rene Magritte. A self-portrait of the artist, Titik Nyeri represents a more specific and individual body compared to the generic torsos of Burned Victims. The first panel depicts the artist’s head and shoulders, recalling the heroic classical bust as well as traditional conventions of portraiture. However, unlike most conventional portraits, the artist has chosen to obscure his face in this painting. White and yellow butterflies veil his face, pinned onto his skin with long, slim needles. The portrait is set against a background of blue sky and white clouds. The second panel is identical to the first, except that the artist has removed himself from the picture and all that remains is an empty white space vacated by his self-portrait. The butterflies remain pinned onto this emptiness.
There appears to be another theme explored in Titik Nyeri as well – that of self-erasure, or the absence of the self / physical body. For one, the obscuring of the face in this self-portrait suggests a desire to confound expectations of portraiture and its aims, by representing a subject that is difficult to ‘pin down’, hence conveying that identities are more fluid and shifting than assumed. The second panel of this work makes evident the disappearance of the artist (or the body) from the frame, perhaps – as suggested by the narrative of the 2 panels – a result of being unable to bear the multiple points of pain. This notion of self-erasure is further reinforced by the almost clinical execution of the painting – smooth brushstrokes, flawless surfaces. The two panels look more like digital prints than canvases bearing traces of the artist’s ‘hand’, which is what paintings are traditionally valued for – the artist’s ‘soul made visible’. This was achieved through Harsono’s process of creating these paintings, which serves to ‘distance’ the artist from the final artwork even further. As he explained, he begins with composing the image in a photography studio. Harsono enacts a pose, and is photographed. Back in his own studio, he edits and manipulates this photograph digitally. When he is satisfied with the final composition, he prints out the image, and proceeds to paint it onto canvas mechanistically, aiming to replicate the flat surfaces and smooth finish of his digital print.
Carla Bianpoen
Concept of Works
Commonly known as Lian among Chinese Indonesians, meaning two vertical boards consist of two lines of verses.
Lian or Duìlián = 对联, has meaning of a couplet or two lines of verses or more.
These verses are considered more as praying form, hope, sacred thing which are always hanged in a family room, at the right, or at the left side of praying table or ash table.
This Lian is not only as holy thing, but also, showing the social status of certain family.
The rich family usually decorates Lian with golden color made of paper.
In the past, Lian, always has sacred values in the family. But nowadays, these boards are rarely found at the Chinese families, and they are mostly circulated at antique shops, or becoming collection items of antique Chinese Indonesian collectors in Indonesia.
Lian has lost its sacred values. But, is it disappeared from our life? Lian has changed its functions, becoming name board of stores, advertising, political party slogan or commercial products.
In this context, now, Lian has lost its holy values, its mystical values, and moreover is easily changed in of form and varied media.
I want to use, Lian, at this present context as my theme of works, looking from the history aspect, it is as a cultural from which shows related ties with ancestor of Chinese migrants in Indonesia, and it senses at the moment there is no need to relate with original culture in one side, but losing values of respecting towards ancestors at the other side. Indeed, respecting noble or grandeur values considered important values to keep practicing ancestor’s culture.
These changes are interesting to examine whether in visual aspects, history, language and culture in daily life.
I am trying to pull back these matters, to reconstruct sacred values, to reconstruct existing form and values. And also to broaden the way of thingking of verses in political and social life, and till the intimate situations.
After the 1970s, we need to see the development of FX Harsono’s work to learn how an Indonesian artist perseverantly and tirelessly voices critics to various things. We know that FX Harsono has placed himself and his works since mid 1970s in Indonesian modern visual art. The place for his initial works and became known lies in the resistance against the mainstream of painting looking for nationalistic personality in the 1970s.
As a young artist, a student of the academy of art, he formed a visual art group that later proved to be the pioneer of a pluralistic aesthetic and judgement within the arts. This group afterwards realized the tendency and goals within their group as a “movement”, that is, Gerakan Seni Rupa Baru/GSRB (The New Art Movement).
We generally could understand the difference between “movement” as this group’s tendency intended and what is called a ‘school’ that shape the development of visual arts in previous periods. In the interpretation of avant garde art (ists) a movement tends to show aggression or agitation towards a tradition, whether a tradition originating from a master or a teacher, academy, or even a form of collective called society or public. The teachings or thoughts coming from those being opposed were considered to be disadvantageous or even hindering development. The tendency to agitate is a spirit can be said attached in the characteristics of a movement that is antagonistic in nature.
A movement is definitely different from a ‘school’ (we know ‘schools’ such as Bandung group or Yogyakarta group) that sees it is important to maintain and pass on a system of working or the school itself; that has vitality but “immune to a change”, while requiring a number of apprentices. A movement – and the followers – do not understand culture as a kind of encyclopedia as schools do, but rather as a creation, or as “the center of activity”. In sentences we often hear lately, a school tends to see culture as a noun, while a “movement” sees it as a “verb” thus more dynamic.
Hendro Wiyanto
In 1951, Chung Hua Tsung Hui, an organization for the Chinese community, called upon the local people to form a team to be on the duty of searching for the places where other Chinese were murdered and buried without a trace. This team dug out the bodies and gave them a proper burial in a cemetery. My father, as a photographer, was part of this team with the specific task of documenting this exhumation.
Departing from those photographs, I retraced the history of the genocide of the Chinese by conducting a survey to the villages where the victims were found. In those photographs, my father included some information that provided the date and location of where these people were killed.
The result of the survey, in the form of a video and several installation works, were exhibited in a solo show entitled “The Erased Time” in Indonesia National Gallery in 2009. Subsequent to the exhibition, I received a document with the title “MEMORANDUM, Outlining Acts of Violence and Humanity Perpetrated by Indonesia Bands on Innocent Chinese Before and SAfter The Dutch Police Action Was Enforced on July 21, 1947”. This document contains the information regarding the number of Tionghoa people who were murdered, as well as factories and houses that were burned down, during the years 1947 to 1949. I decided to carry on the research to other cities where mass graves were found. Without a doubt, finding and filtering the data of these mass graves, as well as interviewing the sources who either had first-hand experience or were witness to the tragedy in all the cities in the island of Java took a lengthy period of time.
After 1966, in compliance with Cabinet Presidium Decision 127 of 1966 (Keputusan Presidium Kabinet Nomor 127 Tahun 1966, 127/U/Kep/12/1966), I had to declare my wish to change my Chinese name into an Indonesian one. In line with the decision, all Chinese descents who were Indonesian citizens were recommended (read: required) to change their names with Indonesian ones.
Chinese names indicated a group of people in the society who were regarded as non-Indonesians. They signified outsiders, not good, not nationalistic. To appear ‘real Indonesia’ or like indigenous people, their names were changed into Indonesian names. The word ‘real or genuine’ has been constructed as something good, original, national, and a part of the majority. The social and political constructions have persisted to date, causing a lot of Chinese descents to hide their identity, including their names.
Here I try to be honest and acknowledge my history, as it is. To acknowledge history does not necessarily mean to go backwards. To admit and remember do not indicate that we forget our sense of nationalism. To remember means to put our identity as a chain that relates past socio-cultural values to embrace our future as human beings who welcome diversity as cultural richness.
‘Memory of A Name’ is not a euphoric worship towards Chinese culture, nor does it have a goal to politicize ethnicity or to close-mindedly worship certain race. Through ‘Memory of A Name’ I would like to review our history as human beings, who are born and given names. Names are not only words functioning as signifiers or a mean to summon someone, but names are also identities related to the culture and society in which people live. This project is a form of contemplation of our existence as human who should be treated equally, not entrapped in the social and political constructions created to discredit the Chinese society and their background.
A name is a very personal form of identity. Personal means individual and private. However, personal identity becomes a collective problem when it is no longer felt only by individuals but is also shared by them as a group. The problem of personal identity becomes the identity problem of an ethnic group, and is very likely a global phenomenon.
A name points to a person’s identity and is personal by its nature. Linguistically, the way a name is given, the grouping of names, all point to the identity of specific ethnic groups. Chinese names are different from Javanese and Dutch names. There are some who argue that naming is merely making a mark or sign. But there are also those who perceive a name as giving meaning to their life.
Every newborn receives a name from their parents. Such is the case with myself. I received a name according to the culture and lineage of my parents as Tionghoa or “Chinese Indonesians.” I was named Oh Hong Bun. This was a name that was stuck to me until I was 18 years old.
‘Oh Hong Bun,” in the Hokian dialect, is also “Hu Feng Wen” in Mandarin. “Oh” or ‘Hu” is the family name, which has the connotation of a good luck charm believed to bring fortune to its bearer. “Hong” is harvest and “Bun” is literature or the arts. We may translate the name as someone who is prosperous artistically, abundant with beauty, or someone who harvests words and literature.
Since 1967, based on the “Presidental Cabinet Decision No 127/U/Kep/12/1966,” I was made to give a testimony of my own will towards changing my Tionghoa name to an Indonesian one. According to this letter of mandate, every Indonesian citizen of Tionghoa descent is “advised” (read: forced) to change their original names to the names that an “authentic” Indonesian person should have.
My 18 year old self was subject to this new regulation. I was then named Franciscus Harsono. Franciscus was my baptized Catholic name, which was given by my mother. Harsono was a name that I found for myself.
Tionghoa names indicate that a group of people are not “real” Indonesians but are foreigners, bad, unnationalistic. To “appear authentic” these names must then be changed to Indonesian names. The term ‘authentic’ was constructed as good, original, nationalistic and part of the majority.
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Based on historical finds, it is presumed that the Chinese arrived in Indonesia around 1 – 6 BC. The arrival of the Chinese was initiated by sea trade. It wasn’t until the Airlangga empire in Tuba, Gresik, Jepara, Lasem and Banten that there are proofs of the existence of Chinese colonies there.
From this historical evidence, it is apparent that the Chinese have been in Indonesia for a long period of time. However, the lenghty relation does not necessarily imply that the relation between the Chinese and the Indonesians was a harmonious one. Political problems from the Dutch era also influenced the powerful discordances that permeate this relation.
I don’t know exactly when my ancestors first set foot in Java. However, I can gauge that I may be a fourth or fifth generation. Even my grandmother from my father’s side and great grandmother from my grandfather’s side are Javanese. Yet this does not affect my position as an Indonesian who’s still considered “inauthentic” for bearing a Chinese name.
Indonesia is made up many different national tribes. However, in the case of the Chinese, there is an affinitity of the idea of an “ethnonation” to the concept of nationhood, pivoting on the notion of the indigeneous. “Ethnonation” refers to the concept of being an Indonesian based on “race” or “ethnicity.” Even though the Tionghoa have become Indonesian citizens, they still stand aside from the indigeneous and are considered strangers, even though elements of “the stranger” are only very faint in them. Citizenship is considered differently from nationhood, to include civil rights. The slogan Bhinneka Tungga Ika only applies to indigeneous Indonesia people, and not for the Tionghoa.
* * *
During the Soeharto era, my artworks were oriented towards social and political problems. I was also an active participant in an NGO that worked to defend the rights of people who were repressed by the Soeharto regime. However, when the era collapsed, I began to question my own identity as a Tionghoa person who continued to be discriminated against by the Soeharto government.
Since the fall of that government, reformations occurred in all aspects of life, especially in politics. In 2002, the then president, Abdulrahman Wahid, oversaw significant changes, not to mention the abolishment of the previously mentioned law and the implementation of the Presidential Decision Memo Number 6 Year 2000. With this new regulation, Imlek-Capgome was allowed to be celebrated openly, without the interference from the arms of the law.
Ever since then I continued to look back at my own history, my family’s history and the history of the Tionghoa from my birth town, Blitar. The memory of my own Chinese name that hasn’t been used since 1967 returned. I tried to remember and to scroll this name down. Remembering my ancestral history, remembering my own name was an effort to grapple with identity and to dig deep for cultural roots that have been yanked out for 35 years. This effort was the source of my inspiration in creating my work.
Although political changes for the better have occurred and there is now a greater sense of freedom than before, the attempt to search for identity and cultural roots remains a difficult task to do. Challenges and suspicions continue to be felt, from the indigenous Indonesian as well as the Tionghoa themselves. They doubt my nationalism by questioning my identity. Yet I continue to work and research into my own as well as my familial history and the Chinese Indonesians in the process of creating an Indonesian nationality. To acknowledge history does not imply defeat. Acknowledging and remembering do not imply that one has betrayed a sense of nationalism. Remembering puts identity as a link that connects past socio-cultural norms in supporting the future, for someone who accepts plurality as part of national wealth.
Mitha Budhyarto – Translation
