TEMPO.CO, Yogyakarta - The Langgeng Art Foundation in Yogyakarta held an art exhibition named "River Scapes in Flux" from June 5 to 19.
Cambodian artist Than Sok displayed his piece entitled ‘Middle Ground’ consisting of eight scarecrows wrapped in used clothing. The lighting in the room created a magical effect on these eight scarecrows.
That was just one of the artworks presented during the exhibition, focused on river cultures in Southeast Asia. This art project was initially designed and hosted by the Goethe-Institute in Vietnam. It is aimed at raising environmental awareness from a new perspective.
The Goethe-Institute invited young artists from Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, and the Philippines to capture the fluctuating condition of the living environment in line with social economic and cultural changes faced by river cultures in their respective nations.
Seventeen magnificent pieces of art were then created, supported by experienced curators. Multimedia installations, a series of photographs, videos and objects are all part of the installation exhibition.
Indonesia was represented by artist Budi Dharmawan, 27, who showed off his creation named ‘By the River of Love.’ Using natural lighting, he took photographs of the Bengawan Solo River busy with human activity. His piece portrayed how a river can be a source of life and a threat for many people all at once. Despite that, Budi claimed he had no special message to convey through his piece.
"I’m not looking for a solution in my work. There is no message, I just wanted to analyze it," he said.
Before the exhibition in Yogyakarta, similar exhibitions were held in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam; Bangkok, Thailand; Phnom Penh, Cambodia; and Manila, the Philippines.
SHINTA MAHARANI
