Last week Agung and I went to an exhibition at ROH Projects. We have been planning for this for a month, but finally decided to go after Europe on Screen. Why were we so excited, you ask? Well, because the exhibition is ZIGGURAT by Agus Suwage. Yup, yet another local artist whose name I wouldn’t have known if it wasn’t for my love ♥︎ However, fun fact: apparently, Agus Suwage is the uncle to one of my friends—Zahra, if you remember her. It’s so funny how life works out sometimes, huh?
While Agung has known about this artist forever, I’ve only recently found out about him when he held an exhibition at museum macan—which Agung also told me about. And that same exhibition was how I found out that my long-time friend Zahra was related to one of the most celebrated contemporary artists in Indonesia—she told me she was visiting her “uncle’s exhibition.” MMKAY! So, needless to say, this was my first experience witnessing his work and I’m super happy about it.
Last week Agung and I went to an exhibition at ROH Projects. We have been planning for this for a month, but finally decided to go after Europe on Screen. Why were we so excited, you ask? Well, because the exhibition is ZIGGURAT by Agus Suwage. Yup, yet another local artist whose name I wouldn’t have known if it wasn’t for my love ♥︎ However, fun fact: apparently, Agus Suwage is the uncle to one of my friends—Zahra, if you remember her. It’s so funny how life works out sometimes, huh?
While Agung has known about this artist forever, I’ve only recently found out about him when he held an exhibition at museum macan—which Agung also told me about. And that same exhibition was how I found out that my long-time friend Zahra was related to one of the most celebrated contemporary artists in Indonesia—she told me she was visiting her “uncle’s exhibition.” MMKAY! So, needless to say, this was my first experience witnessing his work and I’m super happy about it.
📷 iPhone 11 12 MP, f/1.8, 26mm + ASUS ZenFone 10 50 MP f/1.9, 23.8 mm
Gigantic Size of Ego
First and foremost, I feel like I should tell you a little bit about ROH Projects. Truth be told, I’ve written about the gallery once before—and been there twice myself—but it was in Indonesian, so maybe some of you didn’t read it. In that case, let me sum it up real quick! ROH Projects is basically a small art gallery located in the depths of Menteng, Central Jakarta. It was initiated in 2014 and has since served as an alternative space for people to discover lesser known faces of the art industry locally and globally. The easiest comparison I can draw with it is any indie/hipster Brooklyn art gallery, I should think. We have been here before to see Eko Nugroho’s and Tromarama’s exhibitions.
Now, on to Agus Suwage’s exhibition itself. The exhibition was actually held simultaneously with Nadya Jiwa‘s exhibition, Sadar, from 18 May to 23 June. When we arrived, Agung and I were relieved to find that the line wasn’t as long as the last time we were here. If I had to guess, the general public isn’t familiar with Agus Suwage’s—or Nadya Jiwa’s—name of yet, which is great because most of the visitors seem to be genuinely interested in their works. That filters out the selfie-crowd through the process of elimination, fantastic! Suwage’s exhibition itself consists of a small number of works, making up a total of 8 pieces—7 large paintings/series and 1 gigantic installation. Needless to say, the installation garnered the most attention and everyone had their pictures taken in front of it—the irony of its title being ‘Ego Monument’ seems lost on them.
Don’t worry, the irony isn’t lost on me. At all.
Thrifted shirt + skirt + jacket + shoes // hand-me-down top // Tiga Mata Sapi tote bag // Loiree earrings //
Noesa headband // old socks // photos of me by Agung
First and foremost, I feel like I should tell you a little bit about ROH Projects. Truth be told, I’ve written about the gallery once before—and been there twice myself—but it was in Indonesian, so maybe some of you didn’t read it. In that case, let me sum it up real quick! ROH Projects is basically a small art gallery located in the depths of Menteng, Central Jakarta. It was initiated in 2014 and has since served as an alternative space for people to discover lesser known faces of the art industry locally and globally. The easiest comparison I can draw with it is any indie/hipster Brooklyn art gallery, I should think. We have been here before to see Eko Nugroho’s and Tromarama’s exhibitions.
Now, on to Agus Suwage’s exhibition itself. The exhibition was actually held simultaneously with Nadya Jiwa‘s exhibition, Sadar, from 18 May to 23 June. When we arrived, Agung and I were relieved to find that the line wasn’t as long as the last time we were here. If I had to guess, the general public isn’t familiar with Agus Suwage’s—or Nadya Jiwa’s—name of yet, which is great because most of the visitors seem to be genuinely interested in their works. That filters out the selfie-crowd through the process of elimination, fantastic! Suwage’s exhibition itself consists of a small number of works, making up a total of 8 pieces—7 large paintings/series and 1 gigantic installation. Needless to say, the installation garnered the most attention and everyone had their pictures taken in front of it—the irony of its title being ‘Ego Monument’ seems lost on them.
Don’t worry, the irony isn’t lost on me. At all.
Thrifted shirt + skirt + jacket + shoes // hand-me-down top // Tiga Mata Sapi tote bag // Loiree earrings //
Noesa headband // old socks // photos of me by Agung
All We See Is Gold
Personally, one of the things that got me excited to visit ZIGGURAT is its theme. According to ROH Projects’ website,
“In Ziggurat, Suwage once again confounds the viewer with a multifarious consideration of human existence. He does not see things perhaps from the perspective of black and white, but perhaps rather from the perspective of gold.”
Yes, you can see gold practically everywhere in this exhibition—the most noticeable is of course the centrepiece monument. All the paintings, too, incorporate gold leaves into the pieces. They easily remind me of one of my favourite art nouveau artists, Gustav Klimt—albeit a lot more understated. What Agung and I found really interesting about his paintings too, is the other material that he used to paint: tobacco juice. Talk about thinking outside the box! It is such a brilliant idea to give a natural colour to the painting, resulting in a much more raw and vulnerable look resembling the human nature.
My favourite painting from the exhibition is one called ‘Moksa,’ which is a beautifully ethereal piece and the only landscape painting from the collection. Moksa (or moksha) is a Hindu/Buddhist concept that refers to the release from the cycle of reincarnation or death and rebirth—and reaching self-actualisation. In his painting, Suwage has captured that sense of freedom very well, adorned with flowers that resemble true death which signifies one’s journey to nirvana. So beautiful!
Personally, one of the things that got me excited to visit ZIGGURAT is its theme. According to ROH Projects’ website,
“In Ziggurat, Suwage once again confounds the viewer with a multifarious consideration of human existence. He does not see things perhaps from the perspective of black and white, but perhaps rather from the perspective of gold.”
Yes, you can see gold practically everywhere in this exhibition—the most noticeable is of course the centrepiece monument. All the paintings, too, incorporate gold leaves into the pieces. They easily remind me of one of my favourite art nouveau artists, Gustav Klimt—albeit a lot more understated. What Agung and I found really interesting about his paintings too, is the other material that he used to paint: tobacco juice. Talk about thinking outside the box! It is such a brilliant idea to give a natural colour to the painting, resulting in a much more raw and vulnerable look resembling the human nature.
My favourite painting from the exhibition is one called ‘Moksa,’ which is a beautifully ethereal piece and the only landscape painting from the collection. Moksa (or moksha) is a Hindu/Buddhist concept that refers to the release from the cycle of reincarnation or death and rebirth—and reaching self-actualisation. In his painting, Suwage has captured that sense of freedom very well, adorned with flowers that resemble true death which signifies one’s journey to nirvana. So beautiful!
"The More You Try to Erase Me,
The More That You Appear."
Considering ROH Projects’ small space, it is understandable that this exhibition is miniscule compared to Suwage’s prior exhibition at museum macan. There weren’t a lot of artworks to speak of as well, although I do enjoy each one that I got to see. Aside from that, its concurrent exhibition by Nadya Jiwa was also very intriguing to look at—consisting of 11 abstract and borderline-macabre oil paintings of various sizes confined in one room. What I loved most about the experience, to be honest, is the lack of hype-seekers who stop by art exhibitions as a way to keep up with the latest trend—paying no respect nor any regard for the pieces being exhibited right in front of their eyes and only use them as a backdrop for their social media selfies. There were still some, of course—I mean, this is still Jakarta—but at least I could tell that most of them were truly in awe of Suwage’s and Jiwa’s artistic prowess.
P.S: We also got a brochure of the exhibition in the form of a newspaper,
complete with a map of the space and exhibition info
Considering ROH Projects’ small space, it is understandable that this exhibition is miniscule compared to Suwage’s prior exhibition at museum macan. There weren’t a lot of artworks to speak of as well, although I do enjoy each one that I got to see. Aside from that, its concurrent exhibition by Nadya Jiwa was also very intriguing to look at—consisting of 11 abstract and borderline-macabre oil paintings of various sizes confined in one room. What I loved most about the experience, to be honest, is the lack of hype-seekers who stop by art exhibitions as a way to keep up with the latest trend—paying no respect nor any regard for the pieces being exhibited right in front of their eyes and only use them as a backdrop for their social media selfies. There were still some, of course—I mean, this is still Jakarta—but at least I could tell that most of them were truly in awe of Suwage’s and Jiwa’s artistic prowess.
P.S: We also got a brochure of the exhibition in the form of a newspaper,
complete with a map of the space and exhibition info