A Group Exhibitions

“Unfinish”
Contemporary Art has no specific limit, sign, and loose indication, moving from its direction and looking for the way to build its construction of notion. The concern of social media and content elastically attract each side which stretched from the past, hack in present, and surmising by the future, moreover how to imagine it.
Looking back to the art’s psycho history dialectica that came from the notion inner self micro (inside) then to the outside world (out) none other of reflection way that can be initiate from ourselves then to the nature and social issues. There are some romantic lyrical slices yet critical and could become initiation, furthermore become communication as a device that could be read and digest its symbolizement.
Uswarman (Uus) and Hojatul Islam (Hoja) recently make a way and adapting such relation of life’s network that is full of message through the representation of how the experiences from inside and outside (inside out) have become the main trigger in their work. Uswarman and Hoja both keep observing their own restlessness that are related to their emotional connection and the nature and environment issues. There is a connection that’s tied so that they feel the urge to feel the depths of self again, “inside”. There are times when they miss what has passed and what is happening. “Inside out”, this word is expanded in another sense to refer to the mind, namely what is felt, the entity in the mind that contains mental stimulation; drive instincts, intuition, ego, desires and the situation outside; environment, daily life, socio-political conditions, and economic. This personal thing becomes an allegory of the exhibition theme. When it’s simply defined, it can be interpreted as a way to return into the soul or return to the deepest heart. Moreover for the both artists “Inside Out” is a turning point of the artwork’s process, wherein Uus back to the form and shape figurative style which in the past had been attached to him. While Hoja back exploring his notion that related to the nature. Most of his works are intentionally unfinished which are filled with strokes, sentences and probably a doll figure.
Scrutinizing Hoja’s artworks which is dominated by image of nature, our perception would be brought to the early development of Indonesian’s Modern Art Paintings; Naturalism, Realism, or Mooi Indie. This is more than that, nonetheless more than that either, more differently, “half-finished”, but enshrouded by the conceptual curtain with the depiction of the nature that is full of mystery of life. Basically, Hoja is enlighted by the adornment of nature that gave much of message and whisper of life.

This observation came from the journey from Sewon Yogyakarta and the depth of Riau, this journey
that gave him idea and notion of mussings related to the “inside”. Hoja is an urban who had a long road track, meandered, through the air, across the river, the depth of forest, the quietness of village, also the sparkling noise of the city. Shortly, he has been exploring the risk of the land and water journey in a modern way. A journey by itself gave him a waluable insight, gave him a point of view, sometimes an experience that can not be found in somewhere else. When he sat quietly on the bench of the seat while seeing the scenery, his mind already flew away. What is happen to Hoja at the moment became the new perception resources, furthermore inspired his artworks, then influence a decision of life, the point where he thoughts about that experiences. He consciously returns to a clear mind and “inside” his deepest conscience. This thought influenced him to decide to settle at Riau with his family during the pandemic. When far away, a strange feeling appeared. Love, hope, longing, warmth, and the closeness with his family always attached to his early works which is he allegorize to subject matter such as form of the doll, the form that able to represent his endless longing. The early artworks with the dolls figure he did around 2009-2018, and the idea kept develop and enlarge to the nature, which he thought was unlimited to be dug up. This mussings became the artworks’s transition from the doll figure to the nature object.
His point of view of life that is “unfinish yet” influence his process of works, that how he visualize nature is not clearly full or fully finished. There are some parts that unfinish, one of the symbols that represent and designate this life is not finished, it is endless. Nature would works consistently, that is unknown its endways. According to that, he alludes his works as “unfinish” which he started in the 2007 until present. Therefore in the artworks “unfinish” could be found the word “bersambung” (to be continued) in each paintings which means that there is continuity of ideas. There is an optimistic nuances. It could be seen on “Subuh Menjelang Pagi 1” (Dawn Towards Morning 1) and “Subuh Menjelang Pagi 2” (Dawn Towards Morning 2) size in 140 x 160 cm, acrylic on canvas, 2021, or “Subuh menjelang Pagi” (Dawn Towards Morning) that made in several series in the same year. These artworks is a sign of time, sustainability, and continuous life to some goals. Apparently, Hoja hides the concept of time and the inevitability of a thermodynamic world change or the conversion of the universe’s energy. Moreover the visual has a texture disruption, melted paint, splash, dot, stroke, even the sketches or the part of the composition that is left empty in some portions is a process that “suspended” or not “finished” and the unarranged text. According to him, the text replaces a figure. For the example it’s written “kupu-kupu” (butterfly) or “di sini ada sembilan ikan koi” (there are 9 koi fishes), “elang” (eagle), atau “matahari” (sun), also means as an object. Shortly, a postponement of an object. This strategy and method will urge the imagination of the audience from reading the text into imagining the actual object. So his artworks are conceptually dialectical. Attract the audience’s perception to think from the visual to the text, then back to the visual imagination or attract to abstract the ‘text’ itself. In semiotics, ‘text’ as a sign. The relation of object and value is not that stiff. It means that the realm imagination of the artist and audience could develop infinitely.

War Man
In general, nature, including its anthropology, reads as a sign in visual context, no exception for the sign of expressions with various stylistic tendencies that emerge from the subconscious. One of the personal expressions could be trace within Uswarman’s emotion. He describe sign of the odd human figure, anonym, dark, sick, ambiguous, sarcasm, etc, that is enlighten the other side from souls. In the beginning of his study in the period around 2000, Uus already have conflict with his madness and fragileness. He conflict with himself (War Man). Even though vulnerable, he had a hard effort to process to seek his inner self, for years through read, thoughts, simple discussions, exploring experimental media, working on with the form, figures, and automatically forms its line characteristics. Beside the inspiration from the former artists, he always prioritize his own strength and intuition. This built the originality of himself and his works. So he could find and feel the emotion on how authenticity has made and growth. Until now, his belief in emotion become the main point of his work. In the end it constructs his idealism with the instinct of criticism. This could be analyze by the painting with a text “chrisies” a parody from the auction hall Christie with a figure which is satire similar to magazine cover, an allusion for the auction hall that is full of game and manipulation to the price and image of the artist. It’s also can be found on the work entitled “Yang muda yang tidak dipercaya” (The Young Who Can’t be Trusted) with the figure a head full of mouth with sharp teeth, and green. Describe about “whatever is said by the younger is difficult for the older to hear”. Even he often questions himself, both in the process of working or the flow of his life.

He has his own point of view on how working with artworks supposed to bring up the instinctive power etween artistic consideration and aesthetic. Essentially he has been digging for what is inside himself, for that he has a strong intuition when dealing with artworks, even he often give suggestions and criticisms to his friends of artist. From that, his intense visual sensitivity creates artistic works, whether its line scribbles, and the way to make the background or the subject matter of the figure. In that figurative nuance works, Uus has been working since 2005 to 2010. However, in 2008 he was already exploring between the figurative to the abstract expressionist. Because actually some parts of the figure’s work contain abstract images. The abstract that he made is also not far from the origin of Ego, which is driven by his own subconscious. This awareness also coincided with the result of his anxiety about the art situation at that time (the painting boom) which was symptomatic and tended to believe in “realism” which was influenced by Chinese painting. According to him, it doesn’t match with the spirit of Indonesian art, which is because he says it’s influenced by the trends. Uus experimented differently with abstract works with heavier color nuances, mixed dark, hard textured, felt brush strokes, strong strokes and very expressive – emotional, sometimes spiked with irregular text. Personal turmoil feel extremely strong on his abstract artworks, he feel like he could express all of his emotion without burden to form something. He could initiate something about love, sorrow, loneliness, joy, even anger, and his sickness about something on his life. Abstract, beside for the way to express the soul, also to protest the situation on the art way. For him, abstraction is not the end of the creative process or the release of worldly needs that many artists believe, but a part of the artistic journey.
At this moment, Uus return to dig a phase from his former creative process. He feels and realize, that in addition to the psychic world he explores, it is important to pay attention to the world outside himself. It means that his sensitivity moved to the social reality that became his basic observation. He responds his surroundings, social media symptoms, or society which became politic practice object. When society is only needed when political agendas and interests are rolling, after that they are abandoned and even suppressed with policies that ignore the interests of the people.
In the work entitled “Banyak Aksi” (Too Much Action) is a metaphor which highlight the contemporary narcissistic problems. Where everyone dramatize a usual event to be an “extraordinary event” which is called viral because it spreads through social media, such as the political issues, gossip of celebrities, youtuber bias, tiktok, or joke about social that the actual value content is almost non-existent or not even that important. Nonetheless, oddly society deluded by that prudish drama. This virtual anomaly not became our ponder to our world, but as a ceremony for the depletion of the life’s value In the same time, we spend our time to a virtual show which attract ourselves to become a person with loneliness, narcism, egoism, and temperament. Everything become a show, people keep watching one to another. Surprisingly, empathy is shrinking. We only watch each other but have little sympathy. With android system, society being watched by digital tracking system, which accumulate within the data bank to watch the user’s behavior and used to influence the psychological side andthen predict the desires of the hedonic. Public is a target by the strengthen of the world’s hegemony with the accumulation of capitalistic. This “virtually” observation initiated his work entitled “Watching”. In the intersecting part of the world, both the real and virtual worlds where the ripples of motion are accelerating uncontrollable, give the urge to everyone to have a chance to express themselves on the public place without any disturbance, nevertheless “loud and wild”. They attack each other with statements which provocative. Uus perceived this phenomenon as a part of animal behavior nowadays becomes public consumption and it is not educative, even this thing could separate public emotion. The reflection of this notion could be found in the work entitled “Mutan”_Acrylic on Canvas_140 x 160 cm_2022. Mutan could interpreted as a hybrid that shows his animal behavior the most rather than its humanity side, from that its wildness spread hoax and hatred. These two artist encourage to comeback on turning point towards the depth of sense (“inside”), reflect the life which had been reduced into some point of view motive without utility and moral consideration.

Uswarman

Hojatul Islam