20 May – 28 June 2013, Pearl Lam Fine Art Shanghai
I was not familiar with Entang Wiharso’s work before entering this exhibition, so I first and foremost appreciated the show as an introduction to the oeuvre of this well established artist from Indonesia. Wiharso basically works in two modes: One mode of expression is painting (and I believe he has originally trained as a painter) and the second mode of expression is sculpture, in this exhibition mainly present in the form of cut-out reliefs. I am aware that the artist also works in performance/video, but this part of his work was present only in the form of one lengthy low quality video projection. The topics of both paintings and reliefs were drawn from the desires of everyday and the complexities of inter-human relations. One could see figurative constellations of humans and monsters engaged in dreaming and exchange of thought. Wiharso style seems to sprout from the folk art style which is probably the key to Wiharso’s success (looking ‘Indonesian’ enough, satisfying the expectations of the neocolonial gaze as well as the traditionalists at home), but the folk roots can be also seen as a artificially imposed limitation on the thoughts he is trying to express. I have to confess that the show conformed well with my stereotypical idea of “Indonesian art” and this is the problematic aspect of this exhibition. The exhibition seems to be floating a bit in mid-air and out of context. The text accompanying the exhibition is equally vague, talking about the “exploring issues of perception and reality, focusing on tracing personal and collective experiences” which sounds almost like a definition of everything.
The installation of the exhibition is also rather standard this time. I guess were not many options given the large size of all the pieces on display. A simple equation of one wall = one work has been chosen. It allowed enough space for each artwork to breathe, but it also produced a feeling of repetitiveness.
Overall I appreciated the gallery’s effort at introducing Wiharso to a Chinese audience, it was very positive that this exhibition took place. I wished there was more thought behind the narrative and context of the show. It may be that what I lack here is my own knowledge of Indonesian art, on the other hand, this will be probably the case for a majority of visitors to this show. Still, given that this is a rare occasion to see Wiharso’s work in China, it was definitely worth a visit.
