Samstag Gallery 2

FX Harsono is one of Indonesia’s most revered contemporary artists. In 1975, he was among a group of young artists who founded Indonesia’s Gerakan Seni Rupa Baru (New Art Movement), which emphasised an experimental, conceptual approach, the use of everyday materials, and engagement with social and political issues. During Indonesia’s dictatorial Suharto regime
(1967-98), Harsono’s installation and performance works were powerfully eloquent acts of protest against an oppressive state apparatus.

In NAMA (“names” in Indonesian), he focuses on Chinese Indonesian personal names and their function as both markers of identity and symbols of remembrance. The exhibition centres on a video in which Chinese names are recited as a litany and then replaced with Indonesian names. Through looking into his own past, Harsono has touched on concerns that resonate globally, foregrounding fundamental issues that are central to the formation of group and personal identities in our rapidly changing world.

Catalogue essay by Siuli Tan.

Read the essay by Aushaf Widisto commissioned to accompany the Encounters + Crossovers: FX Harsono film program here.