Ještě jsme ani nevyjeli z území Zvláštní provincie Yogyakarta, když se začala vzpouzet stará Empritova motorka. Včera ji kvůli dnešnímu výletu vlastnoručně opravil, pro příště by se ale měl spíše držet štětce a barev než šroubováku. Stroj ne a ne nastartovat, ale teprve když z něj začal kapat benzín, smířil se jeho majitel s tím, že ho bude muset svěřit odborníkům. Blížilo se poledne, a tak jsme zanechali Emprita jeho osudu a v nervy drásající dopravní zácpě se překvapivě bez úhony přepravili do galerie Langgeng v Magelangu, kde se konala vernisáž výstavy Utopia Negativa.

Nebylo ale potřeba spěchat: podle informací na pozvánce měla být výstava zahájena ve dvanáct hodin, ještě hodinu poté ale nebyla v galerii skoro ani noha. Tentokrát nám ale čekání přišlo více než vhod – posledních patnáct kilometrů cesty mezi plně naloženými náklaďáky, troubícími auty a nepředvídatelně se pohybujícími motorkami nás psychicky značně vyčerpalo. Organizátoři zřejmě tušili, jakými dopravními útrapami umělci z Yogyakarty projdou, a tak nechali připravit dvě regionální speciality plné cukru, gudeg a tahu ketupat, které nám vrátily dobrou náladu.

Vernisáž výstavy dvaceti pěti mladých umělců byla naplánována na stejný den jako velkolepá svatební hostina syna jednoho z nejvýznamnějších indonéských sběratelů umění a rodáka z Magelangu, Oei Hong Djien. Majitelé galerie tak chtěli využít příhodného okamžiku, kdy se ve městě sejdou sběratelé umění z Indonésie i zahraničí, televizní hvězdy, politici a veleúspěšní podnikatelé k zpeněžení vystavovaných děl. A zdálo se, že jim strategie vyšla: během celého odpoledne přicházeli do zelení obklopeného výstavního prostoru elegantní dámy a pánové, kteří se při svém odchodu naklonili k asistence, aby jí ukázali, který obraz či socha z katalogu brzy bude zdobit jejich příbytky. Kdybych měla pár miliónů indonéských rupií stranou, určitě bych se k nim připojila.

O výstavě slovy jejího kurátora Raina Rosidiho:

„…This exhibition is unique, firstly due to its selection of participants, the artists invited to this exhibition have the following similarities. They produce works that belong to a different lineage in the development of visual arts today. Their works are a common ground between the development of contemporary art with lifestyle, music and subculture idioms. Their artistic vision’s relevance and territory appear in enigmatic themes that are often not fully understood. Despite the bizarre visual expressions of these youngsters engaged with popular culture, they still say something that reflects contemporary life and social relevance. Their different platform of working then comes to the fore with a visual language that is fresh and close to the popular reality…

….The theme Utopia Negativa is adopted from the terminology „negative utopia“ which is the perception of anti-utopia or dystopia. Dystopian products are far removed from optimistic attitudes and moral developments. These pessimistic books voice anxiety towards the direction of human development that is perceived as going increasingly astray.

This theme is considered appropriate to frame how these artists are producing their work. This is due not only because the Utopia Negativa theme is reflected in their works, but also on how they produce those works. The themes that are present in their work, similar to their contemporaries in other art fields, give commentary on the social situation. However, there is some difference in how they approach the issues in their work. Environmental issues, social change, humanity, lifestyle and even issues surrounding art itself manifest themselves in their work in a way that is closely relevant to their daily lifestyles and creative vision…

…This Utopia Negativa project wishes to acknowledge the presence of their unique works in a more concrete fashion in the development of Indonesian regional art. In this phase, while all kinds of works are being accommodated well in the regional Asian market, their works offer a different discourse in their familiarity to the lifestyles they live in. Their artwork is born of a situation in which they are engaging with the popular creative field.

On the other hand, this exhibition also looks into how these works then correlate with the social contemporary universe. This exhibition analyses how these artists participate in the growth of cultural commoditisation and economic culturalisation. Their ambivalence in this participation can be found in their choice of media and styles, such as what they choose to do in their arts practice, such as their affinity to “non-mainstream art” (although the majority of them come from academic arts background) such as toys, mural, graffiti, comics, posters, etc. These artists are also familiar with the use of “non-art” media, such as neon box, photocopy, digital print, etc. The media they have chosen highlight their involvement in alternative media and their entanglement with contemporary social issues.

In painting and sculpture, which are present as the central media in the development of modern arts, they continue to leave traces from their common ground with popular culture. These traces are visible in their use of popular idioms that sometimes become their daily consumption. Some of them have started to take a closer look at local popular culture, such as traditional painting, wayang, ect. as part of their references, at this stage, their common ground with contemporary issues becomes clearer in revealing the social issues around them.“