Exhibition Captures Images of Indonesia's Female Heroes on Silk
Jakarta. The colorful faces of legendary female figures from Indonesia's past are gracing the walls of the National Gallery in Gambir, Central Jakarta, as part on an exhibition held until Aug. 21.
In accordance with its title, "Historical Exhibition: Visualization of Female Heroes and Public Figures' Expressions," the art exhibition presented faces painted on silk as the primary medium by 34 artists, art teachers and art lectures from Jakarta, West Java and Banten.
The artworks display the images of 12 officially recognized national heroes, 16 famous activists and six inspiring figures featuring realistic, decorative and even cubist techniques.
The exhibition, which is a joint effort by the Ministry of Education and Culture's history directorate, Forum Perempuan Pendidik Seni Indonesia (Indonesian Female Art Educators Forum) and a Bandung, West Java-based art community for mothers known as Komunitas 22 Ibu, aims to encourage people to learn more about Indonesia's history.
"We want to show how to teach history in a fun, interesting way by introducing the heroes through art instead of only textual platforms," Triana Wulandari, history director at the Education Ministry, said during the opening of the exhibition on Aug. 7.
She added that the event is form of implementation of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's program to build character through history lessons.
Also present during the ceremony was Mufidah Jusuf Kalla, the wife of Vice President Jusuf Kalla. She expressed hope that the exhibition would benefit visitors and that art and history could continue to cooperate to educate the public.
Blend of Techniques
Creators used mixed media in crafting their masterpieces, combining the batik-making technique with painting on silk.
Instead of wax, tamarind extract was used as the resist. The process started by crushing tamarind seeds into a powder, which was then mixed with butter to produce a paste that can be used for drawing shapes, or even paintings on fabric.
Although it requires more patience, the technique known as gutha tamarin is considered a safer alternative for making batik because there is no need to heat the tamarind extract before use. This allows children to learn to make batik without risk of injury.
However, heat is still part of the process because after the fabric must either be either steamed, or ironed after the drawings are applied to make sure the colors pop out.
"In silk's case, it is better to be steamed because the fabric will wrinkle if we apply too much heat when ironing," said Sri Nuraeni, a middle-school teacher from Bandung, whose work depicts Sandiah, a.k.a. Bu Kasur, a legendary composer of children's songs.
Sandiah's image is surrounded with white and shades of purple, with cubist decorations combined with floral and butterfly ornaments. Below her image are drawings of musical notations – homage to her legacy.
Sri chose purple because she considers it elegant, yet playful.
There was also Bandung-based visual artist Arti Sugiarti, whose work portrays Maria Walanda Maramis, a national hero from North Sulawesi who fought for women's emancipation in politics and education. Arti presented an image of Maria surrounded by butterflies because they represent her transformation into an influential figure capable of bringing about changes.
Surastri Karma Trimurti, who spent her life fighting for labor rights, had an image of her framed by drawings of newspaper clippings.
Eneng Nani Suryati, painted the image of the late Fatimah Siti Hartinah Suharto, better known as Tien Suharto, in mosaic shapes with vibrant colors. Eneng, an art teacher at a vocational school in Cimahi, West Java, said she likes to experiment with lines and mosaic because they are simple to draw.
"Tien was a high-spirited, dedicated woman who always motivated her husband [former President Suharto]. The bright colors represent her ardor," Eneng said.
She added that it took her two attempts to create the artwork.
"I failed the first time I made this artwork because I was in a hurry when I steamed the fabric. This one, which was my second attempt, took two nights to make. I had to work hard to finish this," Eneng said.
Exhibition curator Citra Smara Dewi said in a statement that the event did not only bring forth history in a modern, creative way, but also placed female artists as agents of change who are passionate to explore materials, media and techniques in their craft.
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