10 Sep 2023
16:00 - 18:00
Finissage: Tanah Merdeka
We warmly invite you to the finissage of the exhibition Tanah Merdeka on 10 September 2023 from 16:00-18:00. Continuing the exhibition’s theme of collective creation and the interactions between activism and art, the programme includes a guided tour in Bahasa Indonesia, a performance by Rotterdam-based artist Samboleap Tol, and an interactive painting and woodcut print workshop led by members of Taring Padi.
This event is free of charge and in English. Register via Eventbrite to join us – Please bring a T-shirt or other textiles if you would like to participate in the printing workshop.
Finissage ‘Tanah Merdeka’ © Maarten Nauw / Framer Framed
The works of Taring Padi bring attention to the struggles of different communities around the world, portraying experiences of people that are under capitalist, imperialist, and colonial oppression. The various figures and scenarios depicted in Taring Padi’s works are generated from daily conversations and real experiences of people around the world. Through co-creation, they invite us to see ourselves within or alongside them, and be moved to engage or join as collaborators in their practice.
The finissage programme aims to spotlight dynamics of the personal and the collective, as well as the emotional, physical, and spiritual existences in the continuous struggle for justice. This finissage will be an interactive immersion into understanding art as a tool for radical social change, from performances to painting to print making. There will be many opportunities to have hands-on experience with the collective’s methods to continue messages of solidarity and liberation.
Programme
Guided tour by Taring Padi
Members of Taring Padi will be present to offer a guided tour of the exhibition in Bahasa Indonesia, including the new work, Het Levende Erfenis van Koloniale Geweld/Evolusi Kekerasan Kolonial that has been in progress since the opening of Tanah Merdeka. Taring Padi will share reflections on the process of making this new banner, inspired by and created together with local communities as well as the general public in the Netherlands. While the work centres around issues of colonial violence, migrant labour exploitation, forced migration, resource extraction and techniques of occupying land, it also proposes visions of solidarity and togetherness. The work will be completed through the course of the closing weekend, and visitors are welcome to join and contribute final touches to the work throughout the evening.
Make Time for Happy Moments: Performance by Samboleap Tol
Together with Non Native Native – one of this exhibition’s main collaborators – we are delighted to invite Samboleap Tol to stage her sonic visual lecture-performance. Through her practice, Samboleap Tol strives to situate her personal experiences within the broader narratives of history and politics in order to illuminate the spiritual dimensions of activism and political existences. During the finissage, Samboleap will perform Make Time for Happy Moments, in which she reflects on her childhood as a Khmer refugee in the Netherlands.
Samboleap Tol – Finissage Tanah Merdeka © Maarten Nauw / Framer Framed
Performance by Dendang Kampungan
The band Dendang Kampungan will play music focused on driving the progressive movement forward towards a just future. Dendang Kampungan consists of members of the Taring Padi collective and is a key part of the collective’s exploration of musical expression as a form of political art. They are a punk protest music band advocating for worker’s rights, anti-corruption, and just civil systems in Indonesia. Listen to them here.
Woodcut print workshop
Woodcut prints are a key part of Taring Padi’s methods, calling for justice, peace, and education for the people. Visitors will have a chance to upcycle old clothing by printing Taring Padi’s designs onto them in an unconventional way: by dancing and stepping on the prints instead of using a machine. Make sure to bring a t-shirt or other textiles along with you to take home a part of the collective’s message.
Ucup working on the De Levende Erfenis van Koloniaal Geweld (2023) at Framer Framed, Amsterdam. Photo: Maarten Nauw / Framer Framed
The exhibition can be visited until 10 September 2023.
Tanah Merdeka is presented by Framer Framed in partnership with Brazilian Jewish cultural centre Casa do Povo and Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST).
Supported by
Ministry of Education, Culture and Science; Amsterdams Fund for the Arts; Municipality of Amsterdam and VriendenLoterij Fonds.
- Art and Australia - The Work of Justice Taring Padi
- NRC - Taring Padi: 'Muslim fundamentalists see us as threat because we are punk'
- Art & Market - A Conversation with Taring Padi
- Taring Padi
Links
Collectives / Art and Activism / Guided Tour /
Exhibitions
Exhibition: Tanah Merdeka
An exhibition with the Indonesian art & activist collective, Taring Padi, reflecting on the concept of land as the object and site of decolonial struggles.
Agenda
Workshop: Linocut Printmaking – Tanah Merdeka
Co-creating a lino print poster with Sophia Pekowsky & Ilya Genov to reflect on transnational solidarity and land struggles
Network
Taring Padi
Collective
Samboleap Tol
Artist
Fitri DK
Artist
Magazine
Collectives / Indonesia / Podcast / Social Practice /
Collectives / Indonesia / Colonial history / Art and Activism /
The making of Tanah Merdeka - Dialogue through collaborative practices
Collectives / Indonesia / Colonial history / Art and Activism /
An introduction to the exhibition Tanah Merdeka - by Alexander Supartono
Collectives / Curatorial Text / Indonesia / Colonial history / Art and Activism /