Some exhibitions come and go, while others are here to stay—and, if you’ve been here long enough, you’d know which one it is for us. Yup, you guessed it! It’s time for another Kemang 12730 event! Well, to be fair, Agung and I have only ever stopped by their ICAD exhibition taking place at Grandkemang Hotel every year. You can see how the tradition started in 2021, and how we continued on without fail in 2022 and 2023. This year—despite being a recent frequenter of Kemang—Agung and I didn’t hear much hype about the exhibition itself. And, after our individual hurricanes at work, we finally stopped by at the exhibition last week.
Some exhibitions come and go, while others are here to stay—and, if you’ve been here long enough, you’d know which one it is for us. Yup, you guessed it! It’s time for another Kemang 12730 event! Well, to be fair, Agung and I have only ever stopped by their ICAD exhibition taking place at Grandkemang Hotel every year. You can see how the tradition started in 2021, and how we continued on without fail in 2022 and 2023. This year—despite being a recent frequenter of Kemang—Agung and I didn’t hear much hype about the exhibition itself. And, after our individual hurricanes at work, we finally stopped by at the exhibition last week.
📷 Fujifilm X-T100 with Fujinon Aspherical Superb EBC XC 15-45mm lens + iPhone 11 camera + ASUS ZenFone 10 50 MP f/1.9, 23.8 mm
Let’s refresh our memories a little bit. For those of you who didn’t know, Kemang 12730 is an annual art & design event held by ICAD that constitutes a string of events spanning the entire Kemang area in South Jakarta. This year the event collaborates with 52 participants, spanning from restaurants, design, film and architecture studios, to record stores, hotels and even supermarkets. The collaboration offers micro events at each partner venue—bringing the sense community in the district back to the forefront.
This year’s theme for the ICAD exhibition is ‘Unexpected.’ According to their social media, with this theme, ‘artists and designers explored the unexpected reality that surrounds us, opening up new perspectives through stunning works’—which, I suppose, is open to interpretations. This time I feel like they are more open to international artists, as well as brand or institutional art collaborations. Major disclaimer: we didn’t get to see all of the exhibits—we arrived later than planned due to the bad weather.
Let’s refresh our memories a little bit. For those of you who didn’t know, Kemang 12730 is an annual art & design event held by ICAD that constitutes a string of events spanning the entire Kemang area in South Jakarta. This year the event collaborates with 52 participants, spanning from restaurants, design, film and architecture studios, to record stores, hotels and even supermarkets. The collaboration offers micro events at each partner venue—bringing the sense community in the district back to the forefront.
This year’s theme for the ICAD exhibition is ‘Unexpected.’ According to their social media, with this theme, ‘artists and designers explored the unexpected reality that surrounds us, opening up new perspectives through stunning works’—which, I suppose, is open to interpretations. This time I feel like they are more open to international artists, as well as brand or institutional art collaborations. Major disclaimer: we didn’t get to see all of the exhibits—we arrived later than planned due to the bad weather.
What to Expect When You’re Not Expecting
The thing about being ‘unexpected’ is your audience needs to have some sort of expectation. Now, what about the people who come to this exhibition without any? Case in point—moi. I didn’t find out prior what the exhibition was all about, so I didn’t really build an image of it in my mind. So, how could anything be unexpected when you’ve got no expectations? But, I suppose, to go into anything without any expectation is close to impossible.
At the very least, I would say this year’s exhibition is much more interesting than last year’s—granted, we only saw, like, probably half of it. Personally, I found it really satisfying to see the approach of a lot of the artworks to resemble the first ICAD exhibition that we’ve ever visited—the one that made us return time and again. The exhibition wasn’t as dominated by interactivity as last year, but somehow the concepts and the execution were all very well done. Definitely no amateur hour here. I also love a lot of the institutional collabs that we saw! There were a lot of fresh ideas in the air. Let me tell you some of our favourites.
Thrifted shirt + jacket // hand-me-down dress + socks // Roti Eneng tote bag // old boots //
photos of me by Agung
What to Expect When You’re Not Expecting
The thing about being ‘unexpected’ is your audience needs to have some sort of expectation. Now, what about the people who come to this exhibition without any? Case in point—moi. I didn’t find out prior what the exhibition was all about, so I didn’t really build an image of it in my mind. So, how could anything be unexpected when you’ve got no expectations? But, I suppose, to go into anything without any expectation is close to impossible.
At the very least, I would say this year’s exhibition is much more interesting than last year’s—granted, we only saw, like, probably half of it. Personally, I found it really satisfying to see the approach of a lot of the artworks to resemble the first ICAD exhibition that we’ve ever visited—the one that made us return time and again. The exhibition wasn’t as dominated by interactivity as last year, but somehow the concepts and the execution were all very well done. Definitely no amateur hour here. I also love a lot of the institutional collabs that we saw! There were a lot of fresh ideas in the air. Let me tell you some of our favourites.
Thrifted shirt + jacket // hand-me-down dress + socks // Roti Eneng tote bag // old boots // photos of me by Agung
Unexpectedly Impressive
Pieces of Hope, Solidarity and Movement
Riyan Kresnandi
A simple yet powerful installation that speaks volumes. Taking watermelon as a symbol of resistance that originated from Palestine, Riyan Kresnandi expanded that same spirit to include other oppressed regions across the globe. The installation showcases a slice of a regular sitting room, with paintings of watermelons in various colour combinations hung on the wall, while the small couch in front of it is filled with giant watermelon plushies in different colours too.
What may be overlooked or seem like it isn’t part of the installation is the magazine laid down on the coffee table on the front. But, actually, when you flip through its pages, the installation becomes clearer. Each colour combination of the watermelon is meant to represent the flags of other oppressed regions across the globe
Pieces of Hope, Solidarity and Movement
Riyan Kresnandi
A simple yet powerful installation that speaks volumes. Taking watermelon as a symbol of resistance that originated from Palestine, Riyan Kresnandi expanded that same spirit to include other oppressed regions across the globe. The installation showcases a slice of a regular sitting room, with paintings of watermelons in various colour combinations hung on the wall, while the small couch in front of it is filled with giant watermelon plushies in different colours too.
What may be overlooked or seem like it isn’t part of the installation is the magazine laid down on the coffee table on the front. But, actually, when you flip through its pages, the installation becomes clearer. Each colour combination of the watermelon is meant to represent the flags of other oppressed regions across the globe
Sri Rejeki Nama Tokonya
Anggun Priambodo
Here is a name that may be familiar among local art enthusiasts in Indonesia. Anggun Priambodo is a respected artist and musician whose works are no stranger to the nation’s art scene. Taking a song from his mini album ‘Anak,’ Anggun brought the little store of Sri Rejeki into life through this installation. The store sells all sorts of knick knacks, from candies and toys, to prayer mat, salt and sugar.
The goods offered are rooted in nostalgia, bringing to mind the image of small neighbourhood stores of our childhood. The packagings come in vernacular designs so iconic of such stores too. Everything displayed in the exhibition can even be bought! Well, while stock lasts anyway.
While I’ve known about him for some time, this is the first time I saw his work…and it just so happens that he’s close friends with people from my work now. Crazy!
Sri Rejeki Nama Tokonya
Anggun Priambodo
Here is a name that may be familiar among local art enthusiasts in Indonesia. Anggun Priambodo is a respected artist and musician whose works are no stranger to the nation’s art scene. Taking a song from his mini album ‘Anak,’ Anggun brought the little store of Sri Rejeki into life through this installation. The store sells all sorts of knick knacks, from candies and toys, to prayer mat, salt and sugar.
The goods offered are rooted in nostalgia, bringing to mind the image of small neighbourhood stores of our childhood. The packagings come in vernacular designs so iconic of such stores too. Everything displayed in the exhibition can even be bought! Well, while stock lasts anyway.
While I’ve known about him for some time, this is the first time I saw his work…and it just so happens that he’s close friends with people from my work now. Crazy!
BARA DIRI KINI
Serambi Pirous Studio Galeri
This year the exhibition’s centrepiece features a historical figure in the fine art and design world of Indonesia—especially Bandung and, I suppose, also Jakarta—A.D. Pirous. If you don’t know who he is, much like me, he was one of the leading Abstract artists in Indonesia and a pioneer in graphic design education at the Fine Arts Institute of Technology in Bandung. An Aceh native, Pirous pioneered the use of Arabic religious calligraphy and Acehnese ethnic ornaments in modern Indonesian art, and was particularly noted for the spiritual nature of his work. Literally all of this information was relayed to me during the exhibition by mylove.
This installation itself was setup by his family’s gallery studio. It features a mini biography of his life through his paintings. We are walked through his self discovery through his artistic journey and life experiences that shaped who he ended up becoming. The centrepiece of this centrepiece is the majestic 2-canvas painting and calligraphy in the middle of the installation. It is the first thing that’ll grab your attention straight away. I love how it explores the development of script and how it is now being used to communicate destruction. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to note down the title.
BARA DIRI KINI
Serambi Pirous Studio Galeri
This year the exhibition’s centrepiece features a historical figure in the fine art and design world of Indonesia—especially Bandung and, I suppose, also Jakarta—A.D. Pirous. If you don’t know who he is, much like me, he was one of the leading Abstract artists in Indonesia and a pioneer in graphic design education at the Fine Arts Institute of Technology in Bandung. An Aceh native, Pirous pioneered the use of Arabic religious calligraphy and Acehnese ethnic ornaments in modern Indonesian art, and was particularly noted for the spiritual nature of his work. Literally all of this information was relayed to me during the exhibition by mylove.
This installation itself was setup by his family’s gallery studio. It features a mini biography of his life through his paintings. We are walked through his self discovery through his artistic journey and life experiences that shaped who he ended up becoming. The centrepiece of this centrepiece is the majestic 2-canvas painting and calligraphy in the middle of the installation. It is the first thing that’ll grab your attention straight away. I love how it explores the development of script and how it is now being used to communicate destruction. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to note down the title.
To Expect or Not to Expect
We came here in the rain, but looking back, we’ve always come here in the rain—except for last year, I believe. The exhibition always seems to be held around the end of October and the start of November, just when the rainy season is often in high gear. We got in mildly soaked, seeking solace under our umbrella. When we arrived, there were a lot of people coming out of the hotel dressed in full traditional garments, possibly on their way to a family wedding. For a second, I thought the exhibition was closed for the day—thankfully, it wasn’t.
In terms of visitors, this has got to be the emptiest we’ve ever seen the exhibition to be. Perhaps due to the rain, or because we came there on a Sunday evening, but it allowed us to really enjoy everything we saw. Initially, we planned on stopping by around 4PM, but since it rained pretty hard just when we were supposed to leave the house, we ended up arriving around 6PM—the last visiting slot of the day. By the time the exhibition closed at 8PM, we only managed to check out the first floor.
We came here in the rain, but looking back, we’ve always come here in the rain—except for last year, I believe. The exhibition always seems to be held around the end of October and the start of November, just when the rainy season is often in high gear. We got in mildly soaked, seeking solace under our umbrella. When we arrived, there were a lot of people coming out of the hotel dressed in full traditional garments, possibly on their way to a family wedding. For a second, I thought the exhibition was closed for the day—thankfully, it wasn’t.
In terms of visitors, this has got to be the emptiest we’ve ever seen the exhibition to be. Perhaps due to the rain, or because we came there on a Sunday evening, but it allowed us to really enjoy everything we saw. Initially, we planned on stopping by around 4PM, but since it rained pretty hard just when we were supposed to leave the house, we ended up arriving around 6PM—the last visiting slot of the day. By the time the exhibition closed at 8PM, we only managed to check out the first floor.
While the theme was way too general and might even come off as a cop out, it allowed the artists to truly experiment as far as they find appropriate. Not going to lie, though, the theme that seems to actually dominate the exhibition isn’t ‘Unexpected,’ but instead ‘Going Back to the Roots’ almost. There were a lot of works that seem rooted in traditional cultures of different ethnics or explore rural areas of Indonesia. There may not be a lot of interactivity in the artworks itself this time, but there are a lot of weekly agendas with workshops that people can join—which makes the exhibition feel more alive. All in all, we quite liked the exhibition this year. We wish we could’ve seen more.
This is the last weekend to check out ICAD 14.
The exhibition will close tomorrow, 10 November.
Head on over to Grandkemang Hotel to check it out!
While the theme was way too general and might even come off as a cop out, it allowed the artists to truly experiment as far as they find appropriate. Not going to lie, though, the theme that seems to actually dominate the exhibition isn’t ‘Unexpected,’ but instead ‘Going Back to the Roots’ almost. There were a lot of works that seem rooted in traditional cultures of different ethnics or explore rural areas of Indonesia. There may not be a lot of interactivity in the artworks itself this time, but there are a lot of weekly agendas with workshops that people can join—which makes the exhibition feel more alive. All in all, we quite liked the exhibition this year. We wish we could’ve seen more.
This is the last weekend to check out ICAD 14.
The exhibition will close tomorrow, 10 November.
Head on over to Grandkemang Hotel to check it out!