An introduction to the exhibition Tanah Merdeka - by Alexander Supartono

Presentatie van Alex Supartono in de tentoonstelling Tanah Merdeka (2023) van het kunstenaarscollectief Taring Padi bij Framer Framed, Amsterdam. Foto: © Maarten Nauw / Framer Framed

An introduction to the exhibition Tanah Merdeka - by Alexander Supartono

The exhibition Tanah Merdeka at Framer Framed, from Indonesian art & activist collective, Taring Padi marks an important moment in the collective’s history and practice. Alexander Supartono, one of the founding members of Taring Padi wrote an article about the collective’s work and activism for the exhibition catalogue.

Text: Alexander Supartono
June 2023

In 2011, Taring Padi published the book Art Smashing Tyranny. The publication recorded and contextualised the collective’s politically engaged practice against the ills of militarism and neoliberalism and its social commitment to gender equality, the rights of workers and peasants, and environmental justice. Thirteen years on, the work showcased in the 25th-anniversary exhibition Tanah Merdeka (Liberated Land/Space) addresses the same issues. We continue to fight for “openness, social prosperity, the sovereignty of the people, justice among generations, democracy, human rights, gender perspectives, the reformation of global relations, and the preservation of the environment.” Taring Padi, Manifesto (1998).

In December 1998, Taring Padi was established in the office of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, which was the operational hub where activists gathered to organise demonstrations and press conferences or seek help for friends who were detained during the Suharto dictatorship. This activist ecosystem still supports Taring Padi’s radical art practice. It also enables new members to grow in an atmosphere where art and the praxis of life are interconnected, thus securing Taring Padi’s inclusive and non-hierarchical organisational structure.

With equity, diversity, and openness being paramount values, the collective embraces old and new members from different backgrounds and age groups whose multiperspectivism not only feeds and renews Taring Padi’s radical art practice, but also prevents the development of any form of exclusivity. Such an attitude is reflected in the change of the collective’s official name from ‘Lembaga Budaya Kerakyatan/LBK Taring Padi’ / The Institute of People Oriented Culture of Taring Padi to ‘Kolektif Pekerja Seni Taring Padi’ / The Collective of Art Workers Taring Padi. The former prescribed an orthodox, old-school left organisation, which required a rigid organisational discipline; the latter reflects the evolvement of the collective’s connective principle, which merges ideology and camaraderie in utilising art and activism as tools for political action and education. There is no guidance on how individual styles may be applied to collective works. There is only shared understanding and respect for Taring Padi’s identity, character, and mission. Artistic matters are addressed in an ‘organic’ manner: once the topic, theme, approach, general compositional structure, and text are agreed upon, the execution rests, carte blanche, upon the hands of individual members, who may often invite their friends and acquaintances to participate. Visual details are born out of creative dialogue, debates, or banter while working in situ. This process exemplifies Taring Padi’s principle of learning and working together.

Political art is often considered a reflection of social relations. In volatile social situations, where violence, exploitation, and censorship are part of daily reality, art practice tends to depart from traditional values and canons; it becomes part of history in the making, actively affecting societal change. The radicalisation of Taring Padi’s artistic practice was part and parcel of social and political upheavals in Indonesia in 1998 that brought down the 32-year-long military dictatorship of Suharto. Taring Padi produced woodcut posters, cardboard puppets, and large-scale banners for street protests, which became political tools in its involvement in the 1998 Indonesian popular movement.

With the restoration of democracy in Indonesia, many Taring Padi members left the street to return to their academic studies or launch individual artistic careers. However, the collective has retained its radicalism, its anti-capitalist and anti-establishment ethos. This is the reason why large art institutions and related events have not been Taring Padi’s preferred channels for the dissemination of collective work. Yet, its measured involvement with the international art circuit has enabled Taring Padi to engage with local and global struggles for socio-political changes. In 2022, Taring Padi participated in the National Congress of the Indonesian Alliance of Indigenous Communities, in the context of which a series of murals was created in the Sentani market in West Papua. In the same year, Taring Padi members joined peasants in Banyuwangi, East Java, in their fight to defend their land against corporate exploitation. Activities such as these illustrate how Taring Padi’s artistic practice does not just function as a mirror reflecting social relations but becomes an organic part of these relations.

Presentation of Alex Supartono in the exhibition Tanah Merdeka (2023) of the artist collective Taring Padi at Framer Framed, Amsterdam. Photo: © Maarten Nauw / Framer Framed

The invitation to participate in documenta fifteen in Kassel, Germany in 2022 seemed like an excellent opportunity to contribute to one of the most renowned art events and bring visibility to the solidarity work of Taring Padi. The extensive exhibition of woodcuts, drawings, paintings, collectively produced banners, cardboard puppets, and pamphlets at Hallenbad Ost specifically referenced the struggles of social movements in the ‘Global South’ against dictatorships, corruption, and capitalist systems. The depiction of antisemitic figures in the mural People’s Justice (2002), one of Taring Padi’s early works created as a critique of Western democracies supporting the oppressive Suharto regime, deeply hurt many people. We deeply regret the pain caused by this iconography and continue to apologise.

To commence the restorative process, Framer Framed and Taring Padi approached the progressive Jewish art space Casa do Povo in São Paulo, Brazil. With their help, a collaborative network has been established, including Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST), the Brazilian Landless Workers’ Movement and the Brazilian branch of the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research. The aim of this alliance is to gain a deeper transnational understanding of cultural and historical specificities in raising public awareness about the colonial legacies behind state authoritarianism, land division and violence and to produce collective new work.

Starting in 2022, this collaborative work, facilitated by the Amsterdam art space Framer Framed, materialises the lumbung principle of solidarity work, mutual knowledge exchange, and sharing of resources. Such a proposition is set in motion in the Tanah Merdeka exhibition, to which individuals, communities, and collectives of Moluccan, Papuan, Indonesian, and Indonesian-Jewish backgrounds will actively contribute by co-creating new works. The nature and vision of Framer Framed provide a unique cultural platform that supports the political activism and collectivism of Taring Padi’s work. Towards these ends, the exhibition concept recreates Taring Padi’s inclusive habitus as a Tanah Merdeka, a liberated land where all are welcome to participate and find their voice.

Alexander Supartono, Taring Padi