TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Agki Purbandono, an artist famed for its photograph artworks, was busy preparing the Prison Art Programs (PAPs) that day. Angki, who has been detained at the Yogyakarta Class IIA Narcotics Prison since December last year, was setting up three main agendas for the art program: an interior-exterior art movement, souvenir production (merchandise), and a workshop.
The interior-exterior art movement is an art project that utilizes empty spaces inside and outside the prison to display the artworks crafted by the inmates. For example, displaying artworks in the visiting room (interior) or painting garbage carts with some particular themes. “We are still preparing, but after the launch, they will be displayed here,” Angki told Tempo in the visiting room.
The merchandise program is carried out by printing poster-size pictures and paintings created by the inmates. Most of the pictures were photographs and scanned pictures. Due to limited equipment, the artworks were printed outside the prison.
Angki said there were two kinds of posters for the art exhibit: those created collectively (PAPs Work) and those made individually (PAPs Artist). However, he added, the concept was still referring to the tree prevailing factors in the prison’s life: system, ethics, and attitude. “I call them SEA,” Angki said.
A poster titled the Material Ethic is among the posters to be on display. The poster, which Angky made through the scanography method, depicts shreds of snack packages such as instant noodles and powder milk illustrating the social ethics inside the prison. Angki, who has also launched exhibitions in a number of countries, has also received invitations to promote his "Jail Art" from Japan and Singapore.
ANANG ZAKARIA
