My body of work revolves around the central theme of communism in the past Indonesian society. As the next generation of Indonesians, it is important that we carry on the story how Indonesia became what it is today. My vision is to communicate the impacts of the communist party towards the people of Indonesia, more specifically, the lower-class community.

My exhibition begins with, Claptrap, which illustrates the lack of care the government officials have towards the population. Many people back then were starving, unemployed and living in poverty, but the government was too ignorant to see that. Silence represents the false sense of freedom Indonesia experienced. Many officials promoted freedom of speech, but they closed out the society’s right to express their thoughts by ruling with fear. The next piece, Hunting, embodies the fear experienced by non-communists in Indonesia. Being a Muslim country, these people were called dogs. The communist party wished to cleanse the country free of non-communists, by brutally hunting them down. The final piece, The Fifth Colony, depicts the risks of weaponizing less-educated farmers. At the time, farmers were equipped with weapons they did not fully understand and were forced to hunt down non-communist people, endangering others, and themselves. Arranging my exhibition this way, the audience will get a view of the negative inflictions of communism in Indonesia, starting from the government officials and work their way down the hierarchy to the lower-class.

Acrylic and beermat paper were my main mediums of choice, particularly for Silence and The Fifth Colony. The combination of acrylic on beermat paper provided a raw sense of texture and delivered an organic undertone that helps create a muted atmosphere. I also utilized digital rendering for Hunting as it allowed me to create finer details, which brought the subjects to life. Claptrap is a 3D model, allowing me to create a sense of depth in the work, depicting the grandness of the government officials and the wide gap between them and the lower-class population.

I was inspired by the poetries by Taufiq Ismail, who opposed the communist party and spoke out regarding social issues that posed threats against the wellbeing of the lower-class. I utilized metaphorical symbols to communicate the message through visuals, which tells an overall story. This visual language also resonates with the injustices faced by the lower-class Indonesians, where they could not explicitly convey their disagreements towards the government.

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