Ignasius Dicky Takndare

Ignasius Dicky Takndare is a Papua artist born in 1988 in Sentani, Jayapura. He is a Fine Arts graduate from Indonesian Institute of the Arts (ISI) Yogyakarta, and the owner of Onomi Art Design and Phuyakha Art Studio. His career in the practice of painting took off after he was awarded the First Prize of the Indonesia Panorama Drawing Competition held by Galeri Nasional Indonesia. Dicky Takndare was selected by the Rijskakademie in Amsterdam for a residency in 2024-2025.

At Framer Framed in Amsterdam he participated in the exhibition Pressing Matters (2018), a group exhibition featuring 24 artists from Indonesia, brought together by artist Kevin van Braak. The exhibition addresses pressing socio-political issues in Indonesia. Takndare was invited to the Netherlands in the framework of exhibition and participated in the exhibition’s public programme. In 2025 the collaboration continued with the exhibition Lawan! (2025), an exhibition that brings attention to the legacies of colonial expansion in the Indonesian archipelago and West Papua, featuring presentations by Watch65, Kevin van Braak and Udeido Artist Collective. The title – loosely translating to Fight! – is a call to action against injustice in all its forms.

Central to his work are themes and issues surrounding Papuan people and identity. Human rights violation cases in Papua have reached a critical level, but most cases still remain unnoticed or unsolved by the government. After journalists’ access to Papua was prohibited, this area became one of the most isolated places in the world. The local people are cornered by many threats to their lives and livelihoods, including military violence, limited access to healthcare, being forced to leave their villages as a result of the mining industry, and an increase in immigrant workers from Java and elsewhere. Some researchers go so far as to state that the people of Papua are becoming extinct.

In his work Ignasius Dicky Takndare draws attention to the conditions of the Papua people, who are stripped of the right to freedom of speech, are unable to fulfil their aspirations, have guns follow them everywhere, and face increasing oppressive measures. The idea behind this work is that to ignore the struggle of people in Papua, is to turn your back on humanity: saving them means to save humanity.

Hidden Faces of Papua (2025) by Udeido collective and artist Kevin van Braak. Installation photo from the exhibition Lawan! (2025) at Framer Framed, Amsterdam. Photo: © Maarten Nauw / Framer Framed