2016
Featured work and image by Wayan Upadana.
CROSSING:BEYOND BALISEERING
6-17 December 2016fortyfivedownstairs gallery
Crossing: Beyond Baliseering presented Melbourne with a glimpse of the ever growing contemporary art scene hailing from Bali, Indonesia. This exhibition featured works from emerging Indonesian artists exemplifying the dynamism of contemporary art beyond Baliseering, or in present-day expression, beyond the ‘traditional art’ Bali is famously promoted and known for internationally.
The policy of ‘Baliseering’ was first introduced in the 1920s by the Dutch colonial government to train locals to continue the traditional arts of dance, theatre, painting, sculpture and literature. Visually, this meant that art portrayed scenes of the Balinese in cultural activities and ‘authentic’ settings that fastened in the Balinese art identity through media and tourism. This exhibition featured works of art from 11 contemporary Indonesian artists beyond the boundaries of baliseering, tackling themes of personal life experiences, environmental, social and political issues that may focus within the Indonesian context but resonates to the global stage. Crossing: Beyond Baliseering aims to highlight the artistic and thought-provoking talents of Indonesian artists and create a platform in understanding contemporary Balinese and Indonesian culture maintaining a cultural bridge between Indonesia and Australia.
Crossing: Beyond Baliseering comprised an extraordinary range of paintings, photography, sculptures, and large-scale installations exploring and reflecting Bali’s visual and social culture in the contemporary society. The exhibition included works from Art of Whatever, Aswino Aji , Budi Agung Kuswara (Kabul), Citra Sasmita, I Made Suarimbawa (Dalbo), Kemal Ezedine, Natisa Jones, Slinat, Valasara, Wayan Upadana, and Yoesoef Olla.
This exhibition was presented by Project Eleven as part of Multicultural Arts Victoria’s Asian contemporary arts festival Mapping Melbourne 2016 and was held at Fortyfivedownstairs Gallery, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne VIC 3000. The artists also presented an artist talk on Wednesday 7 December at the Sidney Myer Asia Centre, University of Melbourne.
Download exhibition catalogue.
Merayakan Murni
Project 11 broke its rule of supporting living artists in 2016 due to the exceptional circumstances and work of I Gak Murniasah or more familiarly known as 'Murni' - arguably Bali's most important yet overlooked female artist. Murni lived from 1966-2006, born into a poor farming family and later working as a domestic helper. Her work was initially rejected by some of the best galleries in Ubud due to her lack of formal art education and the confronting, often sexual nature of her work.
A retrospective of her work was exhibited at Sudakara Art Space, in conjunction with Ketemu Project Space from 16 July - 18 September 2016. Project 11 supported the retrospective via the publication of the exhibition catalogues and booklets.
The following is an excerpt from an article written by Jean Couteau entitled 'Murni's Woman Call':
'To say that Murni's paintings are surprising is an understatement: some of the objects she presents in her work are for good reasons rarely named, and even more rarely shown: penis, vagina, lower lips, nipples and more. But when she does show them, they are not what you expect: penises will be ill-shaped, outsized, but ever present, sometimes "on the prowl", and often standing in places where they should not. Vaginas and lower lips may be "open" on the expectative, the object of a cult, turned into a peering eye, or suddenly pierced out of nowhere by an unwanted object. As for the breast and nipples, when recognizable and not eagerly sucked on, they are simply witnesses of the above and more... Yet, in te middle of these weird sexual fantasies also appear forms and messages that consist of simple lines, flat colors ad elementary structures that reveal Murni's original self and world, that of a simply woman faced with the throes of life, and who overcomes them, almost unwittingly through the artistic expression of an "outsider" - an "outsider" artist who was a shock to the Indonesian contemporary art world of her days.'
Gerilya Residency
Project 11 supports a number of international residencies between Indonesia-Korea in support of Ruang Gerilya, an independent artists’ space in Bandung, Indonesia
