sculpture exhibition by Kelompok Semut

Objects and meanings are intertwined in Javanese society. That’s how they call ‘wasiat’, something that can mean physical objects but also advice, which is sometimes referred to as ‘pusaka’ (heirloom). For the Javanese community, ‘pusaka’ does not only mean objects but also words. Meaningful words can be passed on from gener- ation to generation. The ‘wasiat’ theme was used by Kelompok

Semut to name their fourth group exhibition at the Redbase Gallery. Kelompok Semut is a small group of six artists graduating from the Sculpture Department of ISI Yogyakarta.

In this exhibition, they present ideas about ‘wasiat’ in the form of objects both three dimensional and two dimensional. Both are displayed in the middle of the room (a kind of statue, object) and are displayed on the wall or pole of the house. All of them I think to use the object principle as its main awareness, including its two- dimensional work. Three-dimensional works were presented by

Yusup Dilogo, Dedy Maryadi, Ostheo Andre, and Rizal Kedthes. The basic principles of sculpting which usually consist of space, material, and form are used more lightly and freely, including the use of colors and two-dimensional images on these objects. Two- dimensional works such as the works of I Nyoman Agus Wijaya and the works of Khusna Hardiyanto are also inseparable from the principle of the object both in the use of the material and in the implementation of the material of their works.

This main theme departs from the idea of ‘home’. Philosophically a house is not only a physical place to live but also an imaginary space where someone returns. A house is a place where the heritage of the previous generation resides and grows the identity of its inhabitants. The works of these sculptors present their ideas around the excavation of the traces of the inheritance they are tracing in connection with their identity today. The theme of home is also used to explore today’s social problems by using objects commonly found in homes.