Gegerboyo

Indonesia

Gegerboyo was established in 2016, Indonesia
Gegerboyo is a collaborative project between Vendy Methodos, EnkaNkmr, Dian Suci Rahmawati, Ipeh Nur and Prihatmoko Moki. Gegerboyo is much inspired by traditions of Javanese culture, urban culture, the relation in between and the correlation with the current socio-political phenomena

The series of Tan Hana Dharma Mangrwa is a fragment from one of the most important sentence in Kakawin Sutasoma –work of Mpu Tantular, 1400s, where its first fragment was proposed by Mohammad Yamin as the country’s motto, Bhineka Tunggal Ika. Bhineka Tunggal Ika (that one is diverse), Tan Hana Dharma Mangrwa (there is no forked truth or truth is unambiguous), so that is the full version of the motto. Bhineka Tunggal Ika shows the importance of tolerance and Majapahit Kingdom’s pluralism at the time, particularly tolerance between religions. ‘That one is diverse’ could be interpreted that in one Majapahit Kingdom there were various beliefs, groups and tribes, and ‘there is no forked truth or truth is unambiguous’ shows that those different faiths, groups, and tribes of Majapahit Kingdom believed and united in one truth, which in this case is Metaphysical Truth and could be equated with the concept of Human Truth (anthropon dikaiosune) –concept of truth that places emphasis on people’s virtue to the others and in which also reflects his virtue to his God.

The words ‘mangrwa’ or ‘forking, becoming two, or ambiguous’ (‘rwa’ means ‘two’) is absorbing, for number two itself was frequently flourishing Majapahit’s history; for example, two wangsa or two royal dynasties (Rajasa and Sinelir), two royal religions (Shaivism and Buddhism), two colors of imperial flag (red and white), and the philosophical dualism concept of rwa bhinedda (two opposites) –duality that is balancing each other, such as: men and women, day and night, good and bad, birth and death, and so forth. Likewise Modern life, it is flourished with dualistic phenomena, for example: strife between two opposite political groups, matches between two football clubs, friction between two different sects of a religion –each of them has its own respective pennant, they are balancing and complementing each other and unified in one; the two political groups fight for one country, the two different football clubs fight in one match, and those sects blame one another under one religion. The concept of Bhineka Tunggal Ika as a unity is already reflected in Gegerboyo as a body of collaborative project which successfully unites the diversity of its members –who artistically has different character of visualization from one another, but they are one, under one same pennant, and it is Gegerboyo.