A Tale of Two Exhibitions

Welcome to day 2 of our sister trip! Today we are going to Yogyakarta very early in the morning. A little background story: earlier in the year, my sister asked me to go to Yogyakarta this year—initially, she planned to do so in October. However, due to many reasons, we decided to can the idea. Then we heard about our cousin’s plan of getting married in July—that’s when we reactivated the plan and decided to visit Jogja as well. When in Central Java, you know.

While we were planning our trip, we looked into various possibilities of getting to Yogyakarta from Semarang. In the end, we decided to go by travel minibus—since it’s relatively cheap and fast to get us there. We calculated what time we should arrive in Jogja to make the most of our day, and we came to the conclusion of leaving with the travel’s 7 AM schedule—which means we had to be up around 2 hours prior.

Initially, our objective for the Jogja trip was to visit cute, little indie bookstores we’ve seen on Instagram so many times. But that developed into visiting art exhibitions and meeting up with an artist friend as well. Come with us!

Welcome to day 2 of our sister trip! Today we are going to Yogyakarta very early in the morning. A little background story: earlier in the year, my sister asked me to go to Yogyakarta this year—initially, she planned to do so in October. However, due to many reasons, we decided to can the idea. Then we heard about our cousin’s plan of getting married in July—that’s when we reactivated the plan and decided to visit Jogja as well. When in Central Java, you know.

While we were planning our trip, we looked into various possibilities of getting to Yogyakarta from Semarang. In the end, we decided to go by travel minibus—since it’s relatively cheap and fast to get us there. We calculated what time we should arrive in Jogja to make the most of our day, and we came to the conclusion of leaving with the travel’s 7 AM schedule—which means we had to be up around 2 hours prior.

Initially, our objective for the Jogja trip was to visit cute, little indie bookstores we’ve seen on Instagram so many times. But that developed into visiting art exhibitions and meeting up with an artist friend as well. Come with us!

📷 Fujifilm X-T100 with Fujinon Aspherical Superb EBC XC 15-45mm lens + ASUS ZenFone 10 50 MP f/1.9, 23.8 mm

Exhibit A: Chariots for the Royals

The first thing that motivated me to make a detour to Jogja was the Abhimantrana exhibition at Wahanarata Museum (or Museum Kereta Keraton, if you know), since one of my online friends Nibras (a.k.a. Astroruby) is exhibiting some of his gorgeous artworks there. He created illustrations of the royal family over the years riding the various chariots being on display in the museum. It was so cute to see the traditional and antique chariots being mixed with the somewhat modern illustration. I’ve never been to this museum before, but I bet you it would look a lot less fun to not have the beautifully illustrated figures in the chariots. Wonderful work, bras!

The first thing that motivated me to make a detour to Jogja was the Abhimantrana exhibition at Wahanarata Museum (or Museum Kereta Keraton, if you know), since one of my online friends Nibras (a.k.a. Astroruby) is exhibiting some of his gorgeous artworks there. He created illustrations of the royal family over the years riding the various chariots being on display in the museum. It was so cute to see the traditional and antique chariots being mixed with the somewhat modern illustration. I’ve never been to this museum before, but I bet you it would look a lot less fun to not have the beautifully illustrated figures in the chariots. Wonderful work, bras!

Obviously, there were a lot—and I mean, a lot—of chariots on display, so Nibras’s illustrations did not adorn all of them. That made it even more fun, almost like a scavenger hunt. You’d never know when the illustrations would pop up. It’s so clever of Nibras to illustrate how the royal family (and their cohorts) would behave when they rode these chariots back in the day—most of them would be waving their hands. It added a cute little interactive element to the exhibition 🧡

First and foremost, I suppose, let me tell you a little bit about Wahanarata Museum. It is part of the Yogyakarta Keraton (palace) complex and houses 21 of the royal family’s chariots spanning centuries. The building was built in 1855 as a horse stable for the court, but later on developed into a garage of sorts too, since the royal chariots have grown in numbers. In 1985, it was finally turned into a museum and changed its name in 2023 to Wahanarata which means ‘the place for chariots.’

First and foremost, I suppose, let me tell you a little bit about Wahanarata Museum. It is part of the Yogyakarta Keraton (palace) complex and houses 21 of the royal family’s chariots spanning centuries. The building was built in 1855 as a horse stable for the court, but later on developed into a garage of sorts too, since the royal chariots have grown in numbers. In 1985, it was finally turned into a museum and changed its name in 2023 to Wahanarata which means ‘the place for chariots.’

Obviously, there were a lot—and I mean, a lot—of chariots on display, so Nibras’s illustrations did not adorn all of them. That made it even more fun, almost like a scavenger hunt. You’d never know when the illustrations would pop up. It’s so clever of Nibras to illustrate how the royal family (and their cohorts) would behave when they rode these chariots back in the day—most of them would be waving their hands. It added a cute little interactive element to the exhibition 🧡

This was the first time my sister Akita and I visited this place, so we didn’t know about any of the strict rules. If you’re interested in visiting, you should know about the dress code. There are a few ground rules that I think applies in a lot of sacred sites—and the palace complex is certainly one of such places. Obviously, you should wear appropriate and respectful clothing—hats, sleeveless tops and above-the-knee shorts are not allowed. However, they also have specific rules regarding the batik motif you wear—you are not allowed to wear batik awisan in the museum, which are the motifs prohibited to touch palace grounds.

I was surprised to find this last rule, since I decided to wear a batik wrap on this day—thankfully, my motif wasn’t awisan. We did see a couple of foreigners—from their language, they sounded Dutch—who wore sleeveless and shorts anyway. It was a wonder how they could enter the museum to begin with—and, obviously, not being very interested in the things displayed. Please don’t be like them and be respectful and compliant of the dress code if and when you come here.

This was the first time my sister Akita and I visited this place, so we didn’t know about any of the strict rules. If you’re interested in visiting, you should know about the dress code. There are a few ground rules that I think applies in a lot of sacred sites—and the palace complex is certainly one of such places. Obviously, you should wear appropriate and respectful clothing—hats, sleeveless tops and above-the-knee shorts are not allowed. However, they also have specific rules regarding the batik motif you wear—you are not allowed to wear batik awisan in the museum, which are the motifs prohibited to touch palace grounds.

I was surprised to find this last rule, since I decided to wear a batik wrap on this day—thankfully, my motif wasn’t awisan. We did see a couple of foreigners—from their language, they sounded Dutch—who wore sleeveless and shorts anyway. It was a wonder how they could enter the museum to begin with—and, obviously, not being very interested in the things displayed. Please don’t be like them and be respectful and compliant of the dress code if and when you come here.

Part 2: Pattern of the Nation

From Wahanarata Museum, we had a spot of lunch at a nearby coffee shop and made our way to Artjog. We decided to take a becak (rickshaw) here, while we were at Jogja, you know. When we arrived, I was a little shocked to see the really long line in front of the ticket booth, since the last time I was here, it was pretty devoid of people. Thankfully, the line moved fast and before we knew it, we were inside the exhibition already.

The exhibition opened with a collaborative piece between Agus Suwage (you might remember him from here) and his wife Titarubi called Suara Keheningan (the Sound of Sielence). The exhibit takes place in 7 rooms of different sizes, each displaying different installations adorned with ear shapes and rice paddies and different kinds of sounds echoing inside the room. Through this artwork, Suwage asks us to explore our tolerance towards noise, and the obliteration of silence in our environment—yet also, only through our hearing can we test our physical experience and achieve silence. Simultaneously, Titarubi offers us the conclusion to her research on the local wisdom of rice paddies in Indonesia—which has now become the symbol of the death of biodiversity. There were various rice paddies from across the nation—even from Kajang! —which are uniquely distinct one from the other, and local prayers ritually said before planting the paddies, before we are met with—what I found to be a dystopian look of—paddy plantation at the end.

There were obviously a lot more other exhibitions too, but if I tell you about them one by one, we’ll be here all day. So let me just tell you the notables ones instead—in the order of their significance in my memory.

From Wahanarata Museum, we had a spot of lunch at a nearby coffee shop and made our way to Artjog. We decided to take a becak (rickshaw) here, while we were at Jogja, you know. When we arrived, I was a little shocked to see the really long line in front of the ticket booth, since the last time I was here, it was pretty devoid of people. Thankfully, the line moved fast and before we knew it, we were inside the exhibition already.

The exhibition opened with a collaborative piece between Agus Suwage (you might remember him from here) and his wife Titarubi called Suara Keheningan (the Sound of Sielence). The exhibit takes place in 7 rooms of different sizes, each displaying different installations adorned with ear shapes and rice paddies and different kinds of sounds echoing inside the room. Through this artwork, Suwage asks us to explore our tolerance towards noise, and the obliteration of silence in our environment—yet also, only through our hearing can we test our physical experience and achieve silence. Simultaneously, Titarubi offers us the conclusion to her research on the local wisdom of rice paddies in Indonesia—which has now become the symbol of the death of biodiversity. There were various rice paddies from across the nation—even from Kajang! —which are uniquely distinct one from the other, and local prayers ritually said before planting the paddies, before we are met with—what I found to be a dystopian look of—paddy plantation at the end.

There were obviously a lot more other exhibitions too, but if I tell you about them one by one, we’ll be here all day. So let me just tell you the notables ones instead—in the order of their significance in my memory.

Thrifted shirt + camera // old skirt + sandals // vintage bag // Loiree earrings // photos of me by Akita

#1: Leng
A Tribute to Eko Prawoto

Ir. Agus Eko Prawoto, M.Arch is an Indonesian architect and teacher whose work highlights Indonesian local aesthetics to side with humanity and achieve green living. The tribute consists of a beautiful bamboo installation—a replica of his aesthetics—with projection mapping in the middle, a touching little commentary documentary playing in a loop, and the numerous artefacts of his life and work. I didn’t know who he was when I entered, but I made a mental note to find out more about him when I left. The man passed away recently in September 2023.

#2: Ruang Elok Sarat Tempo
Julian Abraham ‘Togar’

This installation captured my and my sister’s attention instantly, because there were two musicians having a little jam session in the middle of the installation area when we passed by. The tune is reminiscent of middle eastern rock (not unlike the music of Ali), and keeps getting played for a few minutes. The tune blends so well with the visuals of the installation that uses simple typography to create patterns that spell out the support for Palestine in not so many words. The installation also expands to the next-door staircase where words like “Kuntsfayakunts” and “Insjallah” were written. Absolutely brilliant!

#3: Capturing Aroma
Tempa x Rumah Atsiri

If you’ve read this blog for a while, you may now that Tempa is one of my favourite artists in Indonesia at the moment. You can see more of their work that I wrote about previously here, here and here. I discovered them through Artjog 2 years ago , and it was only appropriate to admire their work at Artjog again. Their work this time was inspired by their residency at Rumah Atsiri from 2023 until mid 2024, where they learnt about the deep relationship between scent and Indonesia’s history. Mixing audio, visual and olfactory, Tempa has managed to deliver this emotional connection between history, aesthetic value and imagination.

Thrifted shirt + camera // old skirt + sandals // vintage bag // Loiree earrings // photos of me by Akita

#1: Leng
A Tribute to Eko Prawoto

Ir. Agus Eko Prawoto, M.Arch is an Indonesian architect and teacher whose work highlights Indonesian local aesthetics to side with humanity and achieve green living. The tribute consists of a beautiful bamboo installation—a replica of his aesthetics—with projection mapping in the middle, a touching little commentary documentary playing in a loop, and the numerous artefacts of his life and work. I didn’t know who he was when I entered, but I made a mental note to find out more about him when I left. The man passed away recently in September 2023.

#2: Ruang Elok Sarat Tempo
Julian Abraham ‘Togar’

This installation captured my and my sister’s attention instantly, because there were two musicians having a little jam session in the middle of the installation area when we passed by. The tune is reminiscent of middle eastern rock (not unlike the music of Ali), and keeps getting played for a few minutes. The tune blends so well with the visuals of the installation that uses simple typography to create patterns that spell out the support for Palestine in not so many words. The installation also expands to the next-door staircase where words like “Kuntsfayakunts” and “Insjallah” were written. Absolutely brilliant!

#3: Capturing Aroma
Tempa x Rumah Atsiri

If you’ve read this blog for a while, you may now that Tempa is one of my favourite artists in Indonesia at the moment. You can see more of their work that I wrote about previously here, here and here. I discovered them through Artjog 2 years ago , and it was only appropriate to admire their work at Artjog again. Their work this time was inspired by their residency at Rumah Atsiri from 2023 until mid 2024, where they learnt about the deep relationship between scent and Indonesia’s history. Mixing audio, visual and olfactory, Tempa has managed to deliver this emotional connection between history, aesthetic value and imagination.

A Homey Taste in the Corner

📍 Kedai Rukun

After walking for hours and hours (at this point, we haven’t even checked into our hotel yet), we decided to go to a cheeky little eatery nearby—only 850 m from the Artjog site. It was quite literally the best decision we made the whole trip. The place is located in the middle of a little neighbourhood—just unassumingly there—and serves as a quiant mommy-and-daddy shop that offers snacks and meals. There was a kiosk booth (or hole in the wall) where you can make your order. A whiteboard is hung next to it, with a menu that changes everyday. Below the whiteboard is a table where the rice cooker, plates, cutlery and straws are available—you scoop out your own rice to your own plate here, it will be charged per plate.

Next to the door leading to the kitchen—which is a wide-open space where everyone can peek their head in to order anything—is a little rack full of children’s snacks. Above that, there are two frames with quotes on them—the bottom one being a blackboard with the written words: ‘Bagaimanapun juga, kami hanya rumah’ (After all, we are only a home)—which strengthens their image as a family-run shop. The atmosphere is entirely homey and the store owners all speak so chummy with the customers—you can see this too from the cheeky way they write the menus everyday. My sister and I tried their signature menu Bakmoy Ayam (Chicken Bakmoy), which is a clear tofu soup added with eggs and diced chicken meat in it. It is so warm dan delicious, perfect for a rainy day—although it wasn’t raining when we were there.

📍 Kedai Rukun

After walking for hours and hours (at this point, we haven’t even checked into our hotel yet), we decided to go to a cheeky little eatery nearby—only 850 m from the Artjog site. It was quite literally the best decision we made the whole trip. The place is located in the middle of a little neighbourhood—just unassumingly there—and serves as a quiant mommy-and-daddy shop that offers snacks and meals. There was a kiosk booth (or hole in the wall) where you can make your order. A whiteboard is hung next to it, with a menu that changes everyday. Below the whiteboard is a table where the rice cooker, plates, cutlery and straws are available—you scoop out your own rice to your own plate here, it will be charged per plate.

Next to the door leading to the kitchen—which is a wide-open space where everyone can peek their head in to order anything—is a little rack full of children’s snacks. Above that, there are two frames with quotes on them—the bottom one being a blackboard with the written words: ‘Bagaimanapun juga, kami hanya rumah’ (After all, we are only a home)—which strengthens their image as a family-run shop. The atmosphere is entirely homey and the store owners all speak so chummy with the customers—you can see this too from the cheeky way they write the menus everyday. My sister and I tried their signature menu Bakmoy Ayam (Chicken Bakmoy), which is a clear tofu soup added with eggs and diced chicken meat in it. It is so warm dan delicious, perfect for a rainy day—although it wasn’t raining when we were there.

It was only after our dinner did things start to take a turn for the worst—we couldn’t get an online taxi to take us home for an hour. We thought perhaps it’s because of Malam Satu Suro, which is the festivity that happens during Islamic New Year’s Eve—hence, also Javanese New Year’s Eve. We heard in passing that a lot of roads were to be blocked or so. However, when we finally got a car to take us back to the hotel—which is located at the back of Malioboro, a big mistake I would warn everyone not to do—the driver explained the real issue to us. Apparently, a lot of Gojek or Grab drivers (the well-known local online taxis) in Yogyakarta wouldn’t take an order until it reaches a certain tariff rate—50k for only a couple kilos, for instance. That’s insane! That means the drivers are available, but they just refuse to work!

Thankfully, we managed to make it back to the hotel, check in and lay down in bed for a while. At this point, I’d had migraines and took a little nap before we decided to head out again for a warm bowl of Wedang Ronde right across the street. Of course, just like the night before, we talked all night…and ended up sleeping at 3 AM. Great!

The Abhimantrana Exhibition at Wahanarata Museum is open until 25 August 2024
Artjog 2024 is still available until 1 September 2024
Come visit, if you can!

thanks for reading

It was only after our dinner did things start to take a turn for the worst—we couldn’t get an online taxi to take us home for an hour. We thought perhaps it’s because of Malam Satu Suro, which is the festivity that happens during Islamic New Year’s Eve—hence, also Javanese New Year’s Eve. We heard in passing that a lot of roads were to be blocked or so. However, when we finally got a car to take us back to the hotel—which is located at the back of Malioboro, a big mistake I would warn everyone not to do—the driver explained the real issue to us. Apparently, a lot of Gojek or Grab drivers (the well-known local online taxis) in Yogyakarta wouldn’t take an order until it reaches a certain tariff rate—50k for only a couple kilos, for instance. That’s insane! That means the drivers are available, but they just refuse to work!

Thankfully, we managed to make it back to the hotel, check in and lay down in bed for a while. At this point, I’d had migraines and took a little nap before we decided to head out again for a warm bowl of Wedang Ronde right across the street. Of course, just like the night before, we talked all night…and ended up sleeping at 3 AM. Great!

The Abhimantrana Exhibition at Wahanarata Museum is open until 25 August 2024
Artjog 2024 is still available until 1 September 2024
Come visit, if you can!

thanks for reading