S S Listyowati [Atieq]- Report
Artist's Report details:
• Objectives: an in depth artist's statement about the practice undertaken during the residency
• Residency program is a very good idea. Not for the artist only, but also for the host, local artist, people surround the residency site (studio), public of art and culture in New Delhi also other regions of India. It’s not about how to make a same perception, but how to learn about respective of the diversities in a mutual understanding. It’s not about art only, but culture, which is included the bias of social, politic and economic influence etc. Residency program is a good time for learning in comparative and focusing.
It’s a learning and training to ourselves, how to manage our mind and movement into a result [an artwork or realization of our idea].
During the residency, the artist must be adapted and open the window widely for all kind of situation, difference culture, attitudes, local habit, faith, communication, perspectives, facility, relationship, networking etc.
Residency program is about how big and how fast the artist could absorb all of those conditions above as the concept and management of artwork and future plan which could lift and realize to be more artworks and projects in any chance using and useful programs.
• Conclusions and achievements: extent to which the residency was successful, contribution of work to theoretical and/or practical knowledge, significance for the artist, personal evaluation of outcome, including unsuccessful as well as successful elements, contribution to the artist's development.
• Yes, no doubt that program of residency for performance artist on last 15th February-30th March was a very successful event, for me especially in contribution to development of my appreciation and progression in art also management. I wish all experiences in this residence program as a good learning will be useful on my next programs. Salute for KHOJ!
• I describe all my impression during KHOJ Residency in my diary below:
• In the beginning of the residency, a new perception always came to my mind in every second and developed my perspective in every minute, even in my first day in New Delhi. Other artists in my guest house were the first ‘material’ for me in learning process. In the first day [after I knocked the door and sit down on the sofa directly, not came in my room yet and everybody in living room (my new ‘brothers’) offered and served some drink and meal to me very kindly], we talk about spirituality and religion as a major topic, not art. It was amazing and unpredictable. Then, day after day everything kept going in a red line as my concept which is much more spiritual, even it was about gender perspective. A lot of very strong insights and cues came to my daily life and enter my mind, but it would be a very difficult thing for people thinking. Generally, people think about ‘how look’ and ‘textual’ description. Empiric could not describe my mind which was full of ‘something beyond’. I could not push anybody to believe and understand what I believed and I’m learning.
• But, here I was. I need two weeks to make sure what I want to do as possible I can realize my work. The first week was my focus to make a very simple work and could save my money. I was not sure to do the concept, because it was out of my true life. Performance art is never far away from the artist life, what’s the ‘really’ big mind of the artist at the time, without any manipulation. Otherwise, I thought I want to make a concept in studio and performance as an actual issue of the world, for examples: a political will of mine, talk about war, environment, social economic system etc. I wasn’t ‘there’.
• Then I decide to be honest to myself and do something what I want to do and to be myself on my work. I made a draft in a sketch and text. The title of my performance was “SUBLIME” [this performance was created on 2005 and modified during my residency in KHOJ, never performed yet] and correlated in my studio which would be “A Land of Peace” as a place to start and back from the journey.
• In my sketch, I want to make some tunnels from my room to other rooms where my ‘brothers’ and ‘sister’ were staying. My feeling was so deep to them, almost in everyday we did all together. But after a month, everything was going in a rush time for me, I was busy to focusing in ‘what I want to do’ and made me impatient in every second. Little friction on my mind appeared day by day and my deep feeling of my ‘brothers and sister’ was in erosion.
• Finally, I failed to make the tunnels. [Actually, before this concept, I had a (first) concept of relationship. I want to put a camera in every room, every studio of my ‘brothers and sister’ and I can see in my room what was going on their room. It meant that I never stop the relation with them. But, ironically it was similar to ‘watch’ them. Yes, we have a lot of curious and supervision when we make a relationship. That was the concept. Unfortunately, this concept could not be realized because I thought the cost was too high for my budget]
• During my work in studio, I ask to everybody to describe about ‘peace’ on a sheet of yellow paper. But a lot of them could not make it or bring it back to me. I don’t know, it because they were busy or lazy or no attention or had no idea about ‘peace’. No answer from them. Actually, I need those all to inspire in my concept of “A Land of Peace”.
• Talk session was very exciting for me. We could talk, see and listen or discuss and compare everything about art especially performance art as a part of contemporary art from decade to decade, from ocean to ocean, from nation to nation, from culture to culture, from community to community, from country to country, from institution to institution, from personal to personal and ego to ego.
• I enjoyed every moment and event during my residency in KHOJ. Talk session in KHOJ Studio and others, opening exhibition, discussion, seminar, visit to galleries, introducing to a lot (interesting) people in contemporary art space especially in India were an amazing time for me. I was thinking a lot about networking when I met everybody there. But then, the important thing which I wanted to know was the mind and the progression of each people. When I was in the conversation and community, I felt no urgent anymore to have own faith of art, but diversities of mind made different situation and condition also perception to be their own theoretical and also practical in art and those all could be a rich thinking for a discourse on my mind and my knowledge. It was very urgent to my next step, included my observation and research as my learning of performance art on the next program.
• During the preparation and procession of my studio and performance, a lot of thing could pass the problems, everything through like water. Sometimes faced any trouble, but could not erase the red line and the show kept going. All those kind made me reach the gate and get my goal smoothly. It was not necessary anymore to know I failed or not, but when I felt good meant a success. I had a good learning to be processed which was a lot of interest thing in it. A lot of fun and happiness (made me headache sometimes, because overloaded). Anyway, thank You God! Thanks a lot to KHOJ.
• So, the process made me successful. Anyway, although I was not satisfied with people in KHOJ Studio, guesthouse facility, cleaning service, cold shower, shit lamps and electricity, dirty room, uncooked water, daily life, Indian food, stomach, fired ironing, underdog computer, bad internet service & its virus, unhealthy, hot weather, dishes washing, dust on the air, urine smell along the street, relationship, language, prejudice, rumors, other minds and mine, talk, program, my performance, myself etc.
• My concept :
• Title: “SUBLIME” – a gender perspective
• A lot of people thought that a gender perspective is about male and female. It’s true. But a lot of people also think that a gender perspective is a problem and business of female only. It’s not true. Recently, people were still trapped on this perception, included idiom, symbol and analogy. So, I want to make it back in a proportional and objective line. The term is gynocriticism. In my artwork, I used wedding ceremony as a form of my concept. I used my body as a medium to be subject. I used bride attribute as my costume. No groom in this performance. I correlated with my personal background of traditional culture as Javanese [one of ethnic in Indonesia] also Indian culture [as local perception]. Wedding ceremony is a package of a marriage. All those just the ceremony of symbol, but those are the icon of spirituality. So, my perspective of gender is up from the discourse in feminism, pass through the theory from Simon de Beauvoir etc., more than the empiric thing in conversation of problem and terms between male and female in the real world on this earth. Yes, there are a lot of difference perception in society, especially for women existence about subordination, marginalization, stereotype, double burden and violence in patriarchy culture. But, my perspective is something which is immaterial.
• I talk about soul.
• We never finished the discourse about male and female also the justice until the end of this world. It’s a never ending chapter in its procession. But yes, we should try to make some deals to be solution of any kind of problem between male and female in every chapter, step by step to be in better life and culture. My work was a one of a trial to be a solution in understanding between male and female, about perception of gender also respective of diversity between male and female, in peaceful perspective and in a very simple form which is often slipped away from our attention. Marriage meant integration, assimilation, cooperation, compilation, taking and giving, sublimation, etc. in many aspects of life, not about man and woman only. Male and female are just symbol and analogy of diversity, even in a person [individual]. Gender is about humanism.
• Procession
• 4pm-6pm
I started my performance from my room --"a land of peace” as a space where the soul comes from before turn to the world--, prepared myself as a traditional Javanese bride [female] with its complete accessories.
• 6pm-7.30pm
Then I moved out, go down stair. Indian traditional drummers played their instruments on the gate of Khoj Studio out side on the street. Then I ride the horses-carriage [which is usually used by Indian groom only in Indian wedding ceremony with female horses. I saw those as like symbol of superiority and subordinate --difference position and status between subject and object-- in social life also domestic-life in a marriage] and took around for a while before went to a place beside Khoj Studio and walked inside with Javanese-music ‘Kodok Ngorek’ [instrumental music for wedding ceremony when the groom comes to meet the bride].
I stood up in the middle of a circle of candles-light. Javanese traditional live music instrument [‘gender’] began to be played by a musician. In Javanese music [‘gamelan’], the function of this instrument is to harmonize and to make all instruments in a balance rhythm and tones. This instrument which is called ‘gender’ [read: gêndér, not: jende’] is usually played in all the time without the strict rules like for the other instruments. The instrument frees to be played independently or in solo-performance.
The projector started to show some pictures of wedding ceremony of traditional Javanese-culture.
I put salt [on the earth] around the circle into 3 times and I washed my foot with water which was full of flowers. Salt is believed and usually to be used as energy to make evil [negative power] go away from the site. Water with flowers is believed as glorious water, positive energy.
Then I started to walk to each plate of egg, one by one and pressed them with my right foot [this ritual ceremony used to be done in Javanese wedding by a male (groom) and an egg as symbol of virginity and seed, then the bride will wash his foot with water of flowers by her hands]. Then I put the eggs one by one [7 eggs. Seven is a mystical number in any religion and faith also scientific, for example: ‘7th of sky level is the highest and last atmosphere’ of this planet] to a frying-pan on charcoal fire and fried them with palm-oil and garam masala then gave those omelets to audience. They eat them all with a little bit doubt in the beginning. The last egg [7th omelet] was consumed by me only.
In the end, I burned the screen as a symbol that all those [included all ritual and ceremony] are not necessary anymore in a gender perception in the name of humanism and as a human being.
I had done my duty and back to my room, the soul back to the land of peace.
• Text
"A journey of soul from a land of peace and return to the same land again."
• Every soul has a duty to live on the life within any kind of problems, including on this 'damaged' earth. Every soul needs to come in and go out and come in again in the land of peace, enter to each body or each 'thing' in the world, 'ride' and left them as just a medium to life.
The peace-land has tunnels for the journey of every soul as a connecting bridge.
A life is a game for every soul. A game which be played by every soul. Play our mind as a harmony, because life is an irony.
• Soul has no gender.
• That's why equality always be a big quotation in the world until the ending of life. My soul always thinks about harmony and its fair-game as a big temptation to my never ending mind.
Procession in a wedding ceremony is just one of those descriptions. A marriage is collaboration between female and male. A deep meaningful beyond a marriage. Female and male like an earth, as a union and a medium. Everything grows on this world with all problems as blessing. Equality is a magic word for this collaboration. Male is not an enemy of female and female is not an enemy of male. ‘Synergy’ is the other of the magic word in gender. Like 'yin' and 'yang', darkness and enlightenment is always never ending rotation, live and tie to each other as a harmony. All those are just a part of life and journey of every soul to the land of peace, the ending place which is never ending.
• I take this performance from my perspective as a female during my life. This is a journey of my soul which has not finished yet.
• Poem
about ‘sublime’
a soul comes from a land of peace
go to earth to live and survive
a marriage is a symbol of 'lingga' and 'yoni'
a marriage is not only about male and female
a marriage is about a collaboration and synergy between souls
a marriage of our mind, desire and passion as a need
a marriage is about heaven and hell
a marriage is about 'up-land' and 'down-land'
a marriage is about 'head', 'soul' and 'vagina' or 'penis'
a marriage is about 'how we think' and 'how we feel'
a marriage is about impulse, instinct and mind of our body, beside our soul
a marriage is a collaboration between a body and soul in it
a marriage is a symbol of virginity
virginity is a symbol of 'knowing something beyond' as clear as possible which is no surrender (as the object) and power (as the subject)
… that's the power of virginity
virginity is a symbol of a marriage,
between a couple who has to know the depth of mind and heart of each other as 'tabula rasa',
know anything, hear anything and see anything before
then make a real love
virginity is not about claiming, blaming and judging
but like cooking something together
like 'making love' as a sex
[sex looks like food or eating as temptation]
love is not sex
but a trust
male and female has its strong power in its diversity which is 'why' it's 'good' to be a marriage
so,
a marriage is about equality
a marriage is about ourselves,
a marriage of body and soul which are male and female inside
[and it’s about ‘how to reach the 7th levels of skies to the land of peace’]
just read all beyond....