[Kabar-indonesia] 'Lindu' exhibit tells the story of Yogya's post-quake hardship

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

The Jakarta Post
Saturday, October 7, 2006

Feature

'Lindu' tells the story of post-quake hardship 

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The painting is unusual -- if not jarring. It shows a bride who is about to 
sign a marriage document; The groom is on her right; the relatives are gathered 
around 
the couple to witness the rite.

There is no decoration except the jasmine in the bride's hair. Debris of 
damaged houses is seen in the background and a collapsed door is used as a table. 

The day is supposed to bring gladness, but everyone in the picture is in 
gloom. 

That is Manten Gempa (Earthquake Bride), an illustration by seasoned painter 
Djoko Pekik. 

Manten Gempa is one of 30 works on display during a weeklong fine art 
exhibition that began Tuesday at Bentara Budaya Jakarta (BBJ) in Palmerah, West 
Jakarta. 

The exhibition, titled Lindu, presents artworks centered on the theme of the 
earthquake and its aftermath in Yogyakarta. This is the second exhibition 
after 
one in Yogyakarta last month. 

Lindu, which means quake in Javanese, portrays the May 27 earthquake that 
jolted Yogyakarta and its surrounding towns and the devastation it caused. 

Artists from Yogyakarta and nearby cities like Magelang and Temanggung 
expressed their insights into the disaster in the form of paintings and other 
artworks. 

Agapetus Kristiandana described the temblors that frequently rock Indonesia 
in a bronze sculpture of a dairy cow. The map of Indonesia is painted on the 
body of the cow. 

Titled Lindunesia Raya, the sculpture shows that Indonesia's territory is 
prone to earthquakes, especially when the cow runs here and there. 

Lindunesia Raya, a pun on the national anthem Indonesia Raya, is a mockery of 
the acknowledgement that Indonesians are one nation, destined to be one in 
hardship and one in lindu or earthquakes. 

The frequent earthquakes and tsunami -- the latter causing havoc in Aceh and 
Pangandaran -- inspired Ali Umar to create Rumah Gempa & Tsunami (Quake & 
Tsunami-Proof House), a small model of a house that is built to withstand 
earthquakes and tsunami. 

The house has four spiral poles to reduce the impact of strong quakes. 

Through Pasca 27 Mei (May 27 Aftermath), Didik Nurhadi tries to picture the 
activities of people in the aftermath of the quake. People collecting scattered 
stones -- sometimes with acrobatic maneuvers. 

"In the aftermath of the quake, we lost direction. Like the scattered 
stones... it is difficult to rearrange our lives," curator Sindhunata wrote on the 
catalog. 

Hermanu described the disaster in Tiwikromo (Transformation) as a huge 
tornado which swept away everything -- houses, paddy fields and the palace in 
Yogyakarta. 

The need for assistance after the quake, including clothes, has inspired 
Samuel Indratma to make Proyek Sandang (Cloth Project). 

Taking a cement sack as his medium, Samuel shows how the clothes available 
for survivors of the quake are very modest and easily tear. 

Efix Mulyadi, BBJ director, said that situation is far from normal in 
Yogyakarta and Central Java almost five months after the strong quake rocked the 
area. 

In some areas, people feel that they have been forgotten. 

"This exhibition is one of our concerns about the disaster and is our method 
to keep good relations with the artists and the people," he said. 

BBJ is also displaying photographs taken after the quake in the same 
exhibition. 

'Lindu' Bentara Budaya Jakarta Jl. Palmerah Selatan 17, Jakarta 10270 
Phone: (021) 5483008, 5490666 ext.7910 Facsimile : (021) 53699181 
e-mail : bbj at bentarabudaya.com 

Open to the public from Oct. 4 to 10 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.