Roots. Indonesian Contemporary Art / Body-Me: The Body in the Age of Digital Technology

From September 2015 to January 2016, the program at Frankfurter Kunstverein focuses on two thematic exhibitions: the first is dealing with artistic practice arising from political consciousness that reflects today´s Indonesian society in the tension of traditional culture and its rapidly changing reality of life in the global context. The second exhibition is questioning the changing sensory experiences of the self and the body in a digital and technologized society.

Roots. Indonesian Contemporary Art
The Frankfurter Kunstverein presents Roots. Indonesian Contemporary Art, an exhibition of present-day art from Indonesia. The invited artists Joko Avianto, Jompet Kuswidananto, Eko Nugroho and the artist collective Tromarama emerge from a younger generation of the so-called Post-Reformation. Starting in 1998, after 30 years of Suharto’s autocracy, this era is characterized by a new found freedom of expression and experimental liberties. Their artistic practices root in the awareness of Indonesian culture and range between the poles of tradition and participation in modern life. The four artists unite political discourse, religious beliefs and traditional craftsmanship with popular culture, street-art and comic illustration. The artworks have been realized specifically for the exhibition and mostly on-site. The spectacular bamboo installation by Joko Avianto transforms the Kunstverein’s façade taking immediate effect on its architecture and Frankfurt’s urban surroundings. Inside the exhibition space Jompet Kuswidananto, Eko Nugroho and Tromarama present multimedia installations.

Curated by: Asikin Hasan, Franziska Nori and Rizki A. Zaelani

Under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia and in collaboration with the National Gallery of Indonesia in Jakarta, the exhibition takes place on occasion of Indonesia’s appearance as the Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2015.

Body-Me: The Body in the Age of Digital Technology
Technologies have fundamentally changed our relationship to the world, expanded our interactions and thus generated a different perception of reality. Yuri Ancarani, Kate Cooper, Melanie Gilligan and Thomas Thwaites have been invited to participate at the exhibition Body-Me. Their artistic positions represent different perspectives on the enhancement of the human senses and expended perception of reality through technology. Their works consider the human body, its mutability, its fragility and its ephemerality within the context of a digital and hyper-technological society. They raise questions concerning the possibilities of sensory experience in relation to the self: How do we experience our bodies’ physical boundaries? Who am I without my body? Who am I without the technological means that enhance it? The confrontation with human existence, with the fundamental relationship between individual and society and with the reciprocal connection between physical existence and the psychological world of experience are at the core of the varying artistic approaches.

The exhibition is a contribution to the 2015 B3 Biennial of the Moving Image.

Accompanying program: The themes of both exhibitions will be discussed in the context of an extensive program. Highlight events include the panel “Roots. Indonesian Contemporary Art” on October 15 with all participating artists, Asikin Hasan (Co-Curator), Dr. Amanda Rath (Lecturer of Modern and Contemporary Art of Southeast Asia, Department of Southeast Asian Studies and Institute of Art History, Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main) and Franziska Nori (Director, Frankfurter Kunstverein), on October 22 the talk “Diversity and Cultural Identity in Indonesia after the Autocracy of Suharto” with Prof. Dr. Susanne Schröter (Ethnologist, Professor of the Cluster of Excellence "Normative Orders" at Goethe-University Frankfurt) and Hendra Pasuhuk (Author of Traum der Freiheit - Indonesien, 50 Jahre nach der Unabhängikeit and editor for Deutsche Welle in the South Asian Area); and on October 28 the talk "Indonesian Contemporary Art in the Focus of the Global Art Market" by Matthias Arndt (gallery owner located in Berlin and Singapore, expert on the Southeast Asian Art Scene).

Information and press contact: 
Julia Wittwer (Head of PR), T +49 69 219314 30 / presse@fkv.de