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Research for my Future Project have brought me to watch unhealthy amount of Indonesian horror movies, from old, new, and trailers of upcoming movies, on top of that, I listen to numerous episodes of horror podcasts searching particularly for stories of Javanese themed horror and occultism for the sake of evidence to be presented for my Future Project proposal. I know it will not be difficult, but I am not expecting to find so many evidence of suggested narratives that contributes to the aberration of Javanese cultural practice. One that is close to me is the song Lingsir Wengi from a horror movie titled Kuntilanak (2006), the song itself is inspired from an actual song titled Kidung Rumeksa Ing Wengi, a devotional song composed by Sunan Kalijaga, one of the Nine Saints to spread Islam through syncretism with Javanese culture of nêmbang (singing), the success of the movie over shadowed the source material of the song, and people mistook the song as a forbidden song that is used to conjure evil spirits to do evil biddings, both song has “jin setan” (djinn and devil) which not really help to differentiate both. Back in the early 2000s this song is often used to scare or prank people, people start to believe that it is a legit forbidden song, a mantra that must not be singed or played in their iPod especially at the evening or night. I particularly use it quite often to scare my sisters and friends, this trend manages to withstand the grinding of time, it didn’t get crushed, it somehow morphed into a well polished crystal in the worst possible way due to millennial parents pranking their children and Gen Z nieces and nephews. Thus, the tradition of scaring people with Lingsir Wengi is well preserved, along with the demonised perception of Kidung Rumeksa Ing Wengi.
During intensives for Story Roots for Indigenous Future, a reading material by Hilde Lindemann in Damaged Identities, Narrative Repair (2001) mentioned about how Counter stories that provide alternate and counter narratives can fix cultural identities, especially those that has been imposed by majority community group, authoritative institutions, or government through populist narrative that significantly damage or altered the original value and narrative of a culture or practice. This brings me to dive into a different rabbit hole other than horror and the occult, I start exploring to find evidence of narrative repatriation and conservation efforts, to (not) my surprise it is not that deep of a rabbit hole. Very little exposed initiatives for the matter, especially in Javanese cultural practice context. I suspect that the sensationalizing Javanese cultural practice has been so profitable that even Javanese community ourselves don’t really mind, or worse, justify the cultural aberration that happens recurringly. Other than one initiative by the cool kids of South Jakarta that tries to recontextualize wastra (traditional Indonesian textile) all I could find is government initiatives that is Java centric, which instead of increasing positive sentiment towards Javanese culture, Java centrism risks giving the contrary response from Indonesian society who have 1300+ cultural identities who already feel neglected.
Juggling between deadlines and busyness that doesn’t feel so different with working a full time job (I really hoped for a more chill life when I do my Master’s degree, guess I made a fool of myself), all those classes who seemingly random at first surprisingly help me to formulate the form and argument of my Future Project, I am impressed at how it intertwines with each other in the end. The final form is no longer an issue, an activation, got it! Venue is difficult to find here in Edinburgh, I get a permission to exhibit it in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, problem solved! The institution is even interested to include my Future Project in their upcoming program—an exhibition about Javanese cultural process. Source person has all agree to be interviewed, the only problem left is they expect me to conduct the interview and installation of the activation in person in Indonesia, which brings me to the ultimate problem of all research project, budget! Oh, to be broke with lots of desire and dreams!
Now, my main focus is to apply for a research grant from my currently in political turmoil government with my main concern of it not being approved due to my vocal criticism towards its undoubtedly lacking grey matter policies.
Walter Benjamin, in his influential essay entitled The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction written in 1936 mentioned the concept of Aura where he argued that ‘even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: Its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be.’ In Nusantara, the concept of this aura has been present since before Walter Benjamin wrote his essay. Through the process of syncretism that occurred in Nusantara between the Hindu and local beliefs, the concept of Taksu is born, which is the concept of energy contained in various artistic expressions—fine art, music, literature, crafts, etc.—as a result of thought, experience, and understanding that results from years of perseverance in pursuing a field, particularly arts and crafts.
Indriyani parany ahur indriyebhyah param manah. manasas tu para budhir yo buddheh pratas tusah.
Perfect your Indria,
but the perfection of the Indria is below the perfection of the mind,
the power of the mind is in the enlightenment of Budhi,
the most holy is Atman.
(Bhagawad Gita Gita IV.42).
In Balinese Hinduism, maintaining the health of the Indria (senses) to ensure their optimal function is a crucial daily endeavour. The senses are tools through which we experience joy and sorrow in life. However, healthy senses must be guided by an equally sharp mind. This mental sharpness is rooted in Budhi (wise spiritual awareness). The harmonious integration of the Indria, mind, and Budhi allows the purity of the Atman (soul) to manifest in one’s actions.
A person is called “mataksu” when their Indria, mind, and Budhi serve as channels for the Atman’s purity. The term “taksu” originates from “aksi” (to see), but it transcends mere physical sight. Multidimensional seeing involves observing not just with the eyes but also analysing with a sharp mind and reflecting deeply through spiritual contemplation. Only through this multidimensional perspective can one attain understanding, thus enables them to enter the mataksu state, and create a work that embodies taksu.
As I mentioned in my previous blog post, there is a feeling of ethical misconduct with my initial plan to reproduce artefacts to deliver my counter narratives I would like to present in my Final Project. Pramoedya Ananta Toer, an Indonesian writer who was nominated for Nobel in Literature once wrote in This Earth of Mankind (Buru Quartet, #1) his novel that is banned by the Indonesia New Order regime, “an educated person must be equitable ever since they start to think, and even more when they act.” And I felt that if I reproduce these artefacts, no matter how I justify my actions, not only that I fail to conjure the presence of the taksu in these artefacts, but I also am not thinking equitably, and thus my actions are too.
This may not come from a scientific perspective, but I wholeheartedly belief that if I want to deliver these counter narratives, I must start right from the beginning.
Kayu Gung Susuhing Angin | The Towering Wood Where the Wind Nests
In the wayang lakon (play) titled Dewa Ruci, Bratasena a.k.a Wrekudara a.k.a Bima sent by his teacher Dhayang Durna to look for Kayu Gung Susuhing Angin at Mount Candramuka when questioning about kawruh kasampurnan (knowledge of perfection). There he fought with two giants who were actually the incarnation of God Indra and Bayu and triumph over them but told that what he seeks is not there or anywhere to find. Failing to find kawruh kasampurnan in the physical form of Kayu Gung Susuhing Angin, he went back to his teacher and told to venture to Minangkalbu Ocean and find the Tirta Perwitasari. There, he fought against a giant dragon, after he slayed the dragon, Dewa Ruci appears and told him that what he seeks is once again, does not exist physically. This encounter leads him to realise that Tirta Perwitasari and/or kawruh kasampurnan is true happiness and perfection that fundamentally arise from within. Humans must balance their emotions appropriately to cultivate a sense of self-reliance. Bima is no longer bound by worldly desires, as he has attained a state of inner contentment. Holiness is understood as the human capacity to discern what is worthy and unworthy of being pursued (Dhoni Zustiyantoro et al., 2022).
In this play, Bima can be perceived as finding Kayu Gung Susuhing Angin while at the same time not finding it, due to the dualism in Javanese syntax where the sentence can be perceived literally as “The Towering Wood Where the Wind Nests”, while it can also be interpreted as “Great Desire is within the Breath” due to the word Kayu or wood can also mean kajeng or karep (desire), Gung taken from the word agung or ageng (Great), and Susuhing Angin or the wind nests can be interpreted as the human breath. It is a well known Javanese idiom that means great desires can only be realised when it’s accompanied with proper breathing (can be meditation, or praying) that gives us inner peace.
Inner peace is essential in Javanese culture, and the pursue of inner peace has been apparent in Javanese traditional practices through rituals like sajen (offering), burning incense, and the creation of making and performing various forms of arts and crafts which has socio-cultural purposes—more than just aesthetics—which is essential in the pursue of balance with the cosmos to attain said inner peace or contentment. However, nowadays Javanese culture is known to be closely related to superstition and the occult, due to colonial narrative’s simplification, exoticisation, and the result of Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie’s—also known as the VoC or the Dutch East Indies Company—infamous devide et impera tactic. Many people in Indonesia until now is still scared when they hear Javanese traditional songs, smell the incense from an offering, and prone to judge people who practice them, labelling them as heretic. This tactic has been used and proven effective by the VoC during the colonial era through framing all Indonesian Indigenous and Traditional practice—particularly Javanese—as “klenik” a word loosely translated to English as occult, to raise conflict between religious and practitioner of local beliefs. After Indonesia’s independence, sadly it does not get better, Wayang is used by political parties and figures to push political narratives which positions themselves or their party’s figure as Pandita Ratu (A Spiritually Wise King). All of this results in the antipathy of the public towards traditional culture. Fortunately, lately people—in particularly younger generation—has a better understanding of the importance of culture and many efforts has been done to reclaim and recontextualise these various cultural expression—Javanese culture such as Wayang (Shadow Puppet Theatre) included—to the people.
Merupa Rasa | To Form Rasa
In Indonesian language, rasa can be interpreted as taste, or feelings, such as rasa manis (the taste of sweet) or rasa sedih (the feeling of sadness). It is derived from Javanese, which has similar meaning but different nuance. Rasa in Javanese has a metaphysical undertone that can also describe things ranging from but not exclusively about feeling, inner meaning to perception, understanding, and intuition which is intertwined in Javanese society’s way of life (Benamou, 1998). Thus, I would like to manifest my rasa into the physical realm in the form of an activation.
In my previous blog, I mentioned about The Great European Museum (1993) article written by Kenneth Hudson where he views every town, village, landscape, country and even continent as a Great Museum in which everyone can discover their own roots and see how they fit into the chain of human activities. This solves my problem of the absence of collection, and combining Javanese concepts and philosophy in the making of this activation will enable me to practice knowledge co-creation, utilising the best of both Western contemporary science and Javanese Traditional Knowledge (Leete, 2022).
This activation will be designed to be enjoyed by public with all levels of understanding of Javanese culture, while at the same time encourage interaction between the activation, cultural bearers, and audience through activities that revolves around it through the utilisation of Wayang elements as a medium of the installation/activation to challenge the status quo of the populist narrative version of Javanese culture that is delivered through films, politics, and inaccurate religious interpretations.
Below are the elements in Wayang I plan to use for the activation to re-interpret and re-contextualise the Javanese traditional values narratives:
Kelir (Javanese: ꦏꦼꦭꦶꦂ)
Symbolising the sky, it is a stretched linen canvas acting as screen, dividing the dalang (puppeteer) and the spectator.
Blencong (Javanese: ꦧ꧀ꦭꦺꦚ꧀ꦕꦺꦴꦁ)
Symbolising the sun and the Dalang’s “divine eye” that illuminates the lakon (playwright), a coconut oil lamp—nowadays usually replaced by electric light—to casts shadows to the screen. Which will be replaced with a projector playing collected data sets in the form of interviews with several Javanese cultural bearers.
Gedebog (Javanese:ꦒꦼꦢꦼꦧꦺꦴꦒ꧀)
Symbolising the earth, it is a banana trunk between the screen and the dalang, used to hold puppets in place, which will be replaced with other object to hold 3 puppets in place.
Gamelan Orchestra, Pasindhen (female singers), Wirasuara (male singers), which will be represented with an audio recording played from a speaker.
Wayang Gunungan
Also known as Kayon, symbolises The Tree of Life and Macrocosm and Microcosm of Javanese belief, it is used to signal the beginning, transition, and ending of a Wayang performance.
Wayang Kamajaya & Kamaratih
Kamajaya & Kamaratih are The God and Goddess of Love and Harmony, they are a couple who represents the aesthetic energy and creative process of the cosmos in Javanese Culture, from the shapes of leaf, patterns of animals, and ideas of various cultural expressions thought and felt by human is governed by them.
Public Participatory Interaction
· The activation will be installed in the setting of a Wayang performance, and the displayed shadow puppets are allowed to be touched and used by the public if they want to act as a dalang, telling whatever story they want.
· A video of interview by cultural bearers such as Indra Suroinggeno, founder of the Sekartaji Wayang Beber Museum, Ki Sagio, a Yogyakarta style wayang kulit artisan who is also a Wedana (akin to manager) of the leather conservation department in the Keraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat (The Yogyakarta Royal Palace), and Agus Ismaya & Nia Fliam, artist, experts in Javanese culture and creative practices, and founder of Babaran Segaragunung Culture House will be projected to the fabric to give cultural context of the real value and narrative of Javanese culture.
· An hour or two of one day during the exhibition of this activation/installation will be dedicated to a public program of live hybrid Wayang Suket (grass wayang) performance by Gaga Rizky, founder and creative director of Wayang Suket Indonesia or Wayang Beber performance by Indra Suroinggeno.
I understand that finding a venue to exhibit this activation here in Edinburgh might be challenging, so I have another plan to exhibit it at Babaran Segaragunung Culture House at Yogyakarta and document (photo and video) the whole process of the creating the activation. Afterwards, I will build a Digital Artefact in the form of an archival website where the research materials will be publicly available online for people to access, within it included but not finalised are:
· The activation’s curatorial rationale.
· Video Interviews and the transcripts.
· Photo and Video of the activation’s installation process.
· Link to the YouTube Live page for the Wayang Suket or Wayang Beber performance.
So far this is the form of Final Project I came up with and is still subject to minor change. I will be more than happy to hear some opinion from all of you! 🙂
Resources
Benamou, M. L. (1998). Rasa in Javanese Musical Aesthetics. Deep Blue (University of Michigan).
Benjamin, W. (2008). The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 41(3), 363–380. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9752.2007.00579.x
Dhoni Zustiyantoro, Agus Nuryatin, Teguh Supriyanto, & Mukh Doyin. (2022). Luwes and Philosophical: Dewaruci Puppet Performance in Suryomentaram’s Kasampurnan Concept. Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education, 22(2), 418–433. https://doi.org/10.15294/harmonia.v22i2.39209
Hudson, K. (2016). The Great European Museum. Nordisk Museologi, 0(2), 51. https://doi.org/10.5617/nm.3790
Leete, A. (2022). Finno-Ugric Indigenous Knowledge, Hybridity and Co-Creation in Research: The Komi Case. Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics, 16(2), 86–103. https://doi.org/10.2478/jef-2022-0014
I never give much thought about it as I think that telling something is automatically storytelling where you build a narrative that revolves around a topic which eventually ends in truth being laid bare.
Last week I have my Pitching Your Stories, Service, and Products class, hoping to learn a thing or two about pitching in corporate or fund raising context. During one of the session by Joshua Reynolds, he mentioned “everyone has their own truth to assert” which makes me remember that while something can happen in real life, the narrative in which we perceive as truth may be different for each individual. Reality is a narrative we build and choose to believe in.
After class, I was hit with a sudden fatigue which still lingers until this very moment while I type this blog, and during my walk home my brain wanders around and stumble upon Plato’s allegory and his tale about the people in the cave watching shadow made by others and perceive it as a truth. I remember the ending where the freed person who finally see the ‘real’ world outside the cave returned and try to convince their friends only to be threatened and accused of telling lies. So much different compared to how Neo was perceived as a saviour after knowing the truth of The Matrix.
Is pitching like capturing and imprisoning some person with their own perception of reality, and try to convince them of our version of reality until they willingly subsided and swallow the narrative we impose on them as their new version of truth? And in return, they will happily invest—time, money, energy, etc.—on our narrative of truth that we ourselves are still working on to bring into realisation.
This reminds me of the World As Story presentation where my group speak about colonial narratives regarding the stewardship of unethically obtained artefacts by institutions of authority from a powerful nation who—through their website, exhibition, public programs, publication—impose a narrative to the public that they might just happen to obtain it through legal means, citing outdated and politically questionable regulations—such as permit from an empire who conquer the civilisation in which the artefact is taken from—which harms the original owner of the artefact. Moreover, there is bias in which these objects are contested and returned, for some artefact are able to be returned in the grounds of moral and compassion towards the original owner. In what grounds that these authoritative institutions decide which approach is suitable when encountering contestation of an artefact that is owned by one cultural group and another?
Further justification of this right of stewardship also extends to the diminishing of other culture’s knowledge system by pitching the narrative of—self proclaimed—’Guardian of Human History’ which have all the technological advantage to preserve these artefacts. However, traditionally, each culture, if not conquered and structurally destroyed in almost every aspect, have their own way of preservation method for their artefacts. Take the Javanese Keris blade for example, as a relic imbued with spiritual energy according to the Javanese spiritual belief, there is a procession called Jamasan (to bathe or to purify). This ritual while it seems like a practice of spiritual belief, the material, substances, and stages of these bathing or purifying ritual of these blades gets rid of rust in the blade, sharpens it, brings back it’s shine, and unique patterns for centuries. On top of that, it connects the people with their culture through practicing what their ancestors did hundreds of years ago, linking them to the past, giving a deeper understanding of themselves individually and communally, strengthening the roots of their identity in the rapidly changing society. Clearly it is different when it is inside a glass cube, displayed on top of a vitrine and never been ‘preserved’ as it should be preserved, as a relic, not artefact.
The practice of approaching Keris blades as artefact for an object of thought exercise and elite academic discourse is not apparent in Javanese culture—I don’t know in other cultures—since Keris as ageman (a relic that has spiritual energy that gives you positive effects such as luck or protection) is intertwined within the life of Javanese people as something that we just naturally… Do.
Instead of thinking about it, we work on it. Through working on it, we naturally think about it, ngelmu iku kelakone kanthi laku which loosely translated into “learning by doing”. And through constantly practicing our tradition, we constantly re-contextualise it throughout the passage of time, keeping it relevant and established in our society, that is the idea and narrative about Javanese culture I want to pitch to people, including my own.
Cogito, ergo sum, said Descartes. Laboro, ergo sum, said my ancestors.
I have been struggling with my own doubts towards my initial project idea.
The Ethical Data Futures class, although it touches more on ethical approaches to the use of data in society, was surprisingly helpful for me to navigate the ethical doubts I’ve faced in the last few weeks. The ethical assessment techniques exercises carried out every week sparked my thinking to look for more ethical and effective ways of conveying the narrative that I wanted to convey in my Final Project.
In Economies of Virtue: The Circulation of ‘Ethics’ in Big Tech which is one of the reading materials for Ethical Data Future and coincidentally discusses how Big Tech companies position ethics as a tool that needs to be obtained in order to justify their other unethical actions, treating it something that is owned by another person or group, which they must obtain.
In recent days I have been following developments in discussions about culture in Indonesia, the government’s version of culture is dances, festivals, reckless creative economy, and fashion politics. Meanwhile, culture according to cultural bearers is something that is born from the people, habits, and various cultural expressions themselves are the result of thought processes from cultural practices it self, a cycle. One night, while seeing a sarcastic posts from an Instagram account called kemenyan.ri which seemed to have been created by people who were fed up with the cultural landscape in Indonesia and the actions of Ministry of Culture officials which were just empty talk, I recalled material from Economies of Virtue: The Circulation of ‘Ethics’ in Big Tech mentioned above and try to contextualise it using Indonesian culture perspective, I think that we can learn and adopt cultures from other communities, groups, or nations willingly, it can also be imposed on us unconsciously, this goes vice versa. It’s just that in the cultural context in Indonesia this is often not discussed, because thanks to the rankings of knowledge, it has placed arts and culture at the lowest tier in the prestige pyramid of the Indonesian education system which is full of oligarchic interests and tends towards achieving high productivity as devotion to God Capital. Here I started to have a rough idea for my Final Project.
I believe the universe will give us what we need, my trip to London brought me together with new friends, old friends, and new thoughts, as well as dark tales about the possible future of culture in Indonesia. When I visited Tate Modern, I thought that seeing the work of Marcel Duchamp or Lucio Fontana would provide inspiration that might help me, but instead, I fell deeper into confusion over the absence of collections and exhibitions for my Final Project. Until finally I found Edgar Calel’s work entitled Ru K’ Ox K’Ob’El Jun Ojer Etemab’El (The Echo of an Ancient Form of Knowledge), quoting the artwork description of this work, Calel challenges individualistic notion of ownership, rooted in capitalistic values and said that there are things that belong to humanity and that no one can possess. He believes it is only fair that the practices of Indigenous people, even when circulating in an art market, continue to belong to them.
Even though this work is an installation art, I try to focus on Calel’s approach on artifying offering practice, this makes me think of Kenneth Hudson’s writing in The Great European Museum (1993), an article written in the year of my birth which funnily, is still relevant and helpful to me at this time, there he said: ‘From a museum point of view, I see every town, village, landscape, country and even continent as a Great Museum in which everyone can discover their own roots and see how they fit into the chain of human activities which stretches back over the centuries. This made me think, what if I used Yogyakarta, a city that is very familiar and dear to me, as an exhibition and the various cultural expressions in it as a collection?
On the train back to Edinburgh, I spent time indulging on the reading material for Story Roots for Sustainable Futures, one of which was Damaged Identities, Narrative Repair by Hilde Lindemann, the book introduced what Master Narrative and Counterstory were, and the dynamics between the two. The examples given remind me of how a Dalang (Wayang kulit puppet master) conveys political narratives, passing knowledge, and even philosophy to kings and the people through shadow puppet performances, not only controlling the puppets, a Dalang can also control the direction of movement of society at that time.
As soon as I arrived in Edinburgh, my head is full with thoughts, what should the form of my Final Project be now? How can I link these concepts, experience, ideas I stumble upon? as I walked in a hurry to Usher Hall because I’m running late for the Nu Age Jazz performance which the ticket I bought last year. I arrived, late, mind struggling, tired with a touch of thirst and a drizzle of hunger, I listened to the performance. It was as expected, a festival of chaotic melodies, the musician seems like they’re each playing their own piece, until one point they somehow merged, as if meeting in the same intersection, and a blast of harmony explodes, it’s beautiful. Strangely, listening to the performance somehow, somewhat, helped me to conceptualise my Final Project, now I have a rough idea which I have been tinkering with for the past two days, on weekends, I neglect my reading materials and courseworks for a while to tinker with it, and I found it again, the feeling I always have when I tinker with my works in the past, the feeling of excitement!
The Ethical Data Future class, trip to London, and reading material for Story Roots for Sustainable Futures opened up a lot of possibilities for the shape of my final project, but right now it’s still shrouded in a thick fog, I know there’s something behind it, but I don’t know yet what it really is. I need to clear the fog, but at least, I’m one step closer to cast away my doubts.
Is the very thing I thought to my self during semester break early in the morning at a breakfast with my girlfriend who visited. As someone who is also my cherished discussion partner, I told her about the plan for my Final Project, an Exhibition I said, secretly hoping it would impress her curatorial background.
Excited she was about my project, our discussion brings more questions and concerns rather than development and breakthrough. We talk about my plan on recreating artefacts with 3D printing and laser printing facilities in the Makers Space to act as the exhibition collection, only for us to agree that replicating an artefact created by cultural bearers felt like as if I stole their years of experience, hard earned knowledge, and personal spiritual journey and speak on behalf of them with a fake object supposed to be enough to represent the presence of the actual artefact. True that I plan to make a video interview and show it to accompany the replica for further context, but who am I to frame what they want to say? I don’t want to speak on behalf of them, even though I use their own words.
As I chew on my haggis and scoop some baked beans with a toast, one question from my girlfriend struck me “Do you miss working with an exhibition?”. Perhaps? Maybe I missed the excitement of working with an exhibition, researching on the collections, finding red thread of concepts of various disciplines. But, producing an exhibition is never the thing I do. Instead, I produce programs and publications to elevate public’s understanding of the exhibition, bridging the artists, artefacts or artworks, and curatorial team to the general public, I’m suppose to be the bridge.
That day I realised, making an exhibition may not be the right thing for me to do.
But if I want to do the very thing I’m experienced in doing (producing programs and publications), I will need a collection to work on, I need an exhibition.
That day the breakfast was delicious, but I feel like I crashed into an invisible wall, my girl smiling on the other side, telling me to take my time to think things through thoroughly.
Before writing this blog, I attended one of the KIPP Lectures. Today’s topic is on Ethics, despite having a sleep deprivation for the last 3 months due to uncomfortable student accommodation I decided to attend the class in hope to gather insight for this very blog post.
Throughout the lecture I have to say that my mind is wandering somewhere else, while the ethics on research is explained in the lecture, I can’t help to think that this idea on ethics that must be followed by students to conduct research has any other impact? As an individual with the need of graduating, everyone will go through the process of submitting the ethical form whether they like it or not, the question begins after. Loosely quoting the lecture, “ethics must be present throughout the research process and afterwards”. While I’d like to believe that people with education is an ethical person (which I was proven wrong throughout my lifetime on earth, humans are just fundamentally evil) that is not the thing I have in mind. I’m interested in the idea of how many of these ethical approaches will remain or still considered ethical in years to come and what implication it might have in the future ?
A conversation with a friend yesterday reminded me about a case where numerous local belief system is categorized as animism and dynamism because a foreign anthropologist at that time with his former knowledge and cultural background decided to generalize it that way. For over a hundred years, it is taught in schools until it is discovered that an ancient version of monotheism which is still practiced nowadays by a number of people exist before the introduction of abrahamic religion’s monotheism.
Something that is ok back then, is not ok today. Ethics is something that is constantly evolving throughout millennia, it is a fluid concept, that is used to prevent us from committing horrendous acts and protecting ourselves from negative emotions individually and communally. Furthermore, I also wonder, how people hundreds of years in the future will think of our work? Given they have access to it.
Additionally, the lecture also covers the topic on how to work with vulnerable groups and while I agree that we have to approach vulnerable groups in caution, I am also interested with a hypothetical case of being overly cautious when interacting with these groups which results in said group to feel bad about themselves, an ethical conundrum which often happen when working with vulnerable groups and communities.
To me Ethics begins after establishing Equality, as long as we don’t see others as our equal, ethics cannot be practiced. Just like Dike, who is considered the Goddess of Ethics is the daughter of Themis, the Goddess associated with Equality.
Borrowing Xu Bing’s retrospective exhibition titled Thought and Method (2019), I recall on the days I spoke with the artist about his practice for work purpose. Xu Bing is one of the most influential artists on the international stage. and his work is thoughtful and groundbreaking in its exploration of systems of language and the impact of globalization and cross-cultural understanding on human society (Museum MACAN, 2019). He first handedly experienced the cultural revolution and in 1977, he started his study on graphic arts in Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), Beijing, China, where he acquired his Bachelor Degree in 1981 and Masters Degree in 1987. Xu Bing was interested in graphic arts as an indirect form of drawing, and also its repetitiveness which moulds the character of its medium (Museum MACAN, 2019). What I found interesting (or what I perceive from his works) from his practice is the juxtaposition of physical form and his thoughts and studies it self in which you can say that his artwork is both his Thought and Method.
It has been a habit of mine to begin designing projects using Simon Sinék’s Golden Circle model, finding the Why, continued with the How and the What. I found that using this model in designing public programs often to be spot on and eliminates the rigorous process of explaining to my self and others on what I really mean, I think because it comes from a point where we fundamentally have a clear understanding on what we want to do. Through this model approach, I arrive to:
Why
I want to counter false narrative of culture (shifting value, tokenization of culture, culture taken out of context, demonisation of traditional and indigenous practices, oversimplification of culture due to economic exploitation), preserve the existing positive intangible cultural heritage (pride of ethnic identity, diversity, tolerance, local wisdom), and promote these values within and outside it’s own discipline (socio-cultural relevance)
How
Recontextualise —> (Tradition, Cultural Narratives, Local Wisdom) —> Re-Establish
What
Exhibition
Public program
Games
Festival
Policy
Cultural Data Science
And other cultural or creative approach
From all the results of what I can do to achieve the how for my why, my choice fells to Exhibition and Public Program, because that is the creative approach I am most familiar and comfortable with. Lately, I indulged my self with reading Justin O’Connor’s Culture is not an Industry, which I think is reasonable and applicable to my goals in recontextualising and re-establishing tradition and culture (Indonesian in general, Javanese in particular), the argues that culture, as an object of public policy must be removed from the framework of “industry” and back to the public sphere alongside healthcare, education, and social welfare. While there are cultural industry (production of cultural goods, organised production, etc), O’Connor stated that “Culture” it self is not an industry, and it has no obligation to answer, function as, or produce jobs, economical growth, or act as a catalyst for innovation. On the other hand, it is part of our democratic citizenship, human rights, and essential for us to reimagine the future (O’Connor, 2024).
Reimagining the future in a world flooded with information is prone to the threats of information overload, which instead of enabling us to gain useful information, it buries us in the taxing effort of choosing the information which is presented responsibly. While data science may help us in aggregating information on particular topic, but the context within the aggregated content still needs human touch to be presented for the sake of particular narratives. In Steven Rosenbaum’s Curation Nation, he said that the future of content is context, and the act of curating these information to present a certain narrative is crucial. I am also currently revisiting Hans Ulrich Obrist’s Ways of Curation to deepen my understanding of which curatorial methodology is applicable for my final project.
As I mentioned in my previous blog, I am trying an approach where the exhibition revolves around the public program, not the other way around. Hence, I am still looking for articles, journals, or books that specifically discuss about public program in museum, cultural institution, collective, or communities context. Furthermore, I also collect readings, videos, and recordings on Javanese tradition, culture, and practices to incorporate in the development process of this final project.
Additionally, reflecting from my Culture, Heritage, and Learning Futures course, I am particularly interested in the usage of Data Science to be utilised in Culture and Heritage studies, this is still just a vague concept, but I think we can curate phrases or recording from manuscripts, see how it correlate with certain disciplines, put numerical value in it, and see how many times it is mentioned is a certain discipline context. That way, we can see how people in the past view art, society, politics, economy, etc. Or we can see what cultural practice that improves society in a positive way, or habits that hinders prosperity. But this is just something I like to tinker with in my spare time. It may sound difficult to comprehend and quite sporadic, but I hope the map below can help to visualise my train of thought:
For now, I am 70% sure on what I want to do and how I want to do it method and methodology wise.
Throughout the past month, I managed to gain useful and interesting knowledge from multiple classes, combined, I think it can help me to make a program for the next 5 – 10 years for the cultural house I’m involved in.
I have been playing with the idea of making an exhibition for my Final Project. Although I have never been involved in the process of developing an exhibition from the curatorial side, it has been a long time interest of mine.
Coming from art and culture education and public programing background, I always revolve my work around the exhibition. However, I am interested with the idea of “What if it was reversed?, what will happen if the exhibition revolves around the education and public programs instead?”
For that I have brainstormed and come up with several ideas of public program, which can be seen below:
Children’s Program: “Sajen: Gifts to the Spirits”
Format: Interactive Workshop Target Audience: Children (Ages 6–12) Objective: Introduce children to the cultural significance of Sajen (offerings) through storytelling and creative activities.
Description
This hands-on workshop invites children to explore the idea of Sajen (traditional offerings made to spirits and ancestors in Indonesian culture). The session begins with a storytelling segment, explaining the importance of Sajen and the values behind the offerings, such as respect for nature and spiritual balance. Children will then participate in a craft session where they create their own symbolic offerings using flowers, leaves, and natural materials, reflecting the cultural elements they’ve learned. The workshop ends with a sharing circle, where children explain what their creations symbolize.
Outcome: Children will understand the cultural importance of Sajen while exercising their creativity. They will develop an appreciation for traditional practices and learn how such customs can be meaningful in the modern world. Furthermore, the accompanying guardians who are encouraged to craft Sajen together with the children participants will hopefully gain a deeper understanding of Sajen beyond its mystical connotations, appreciating its cultural roots and the lessons it offers about balance, gratitude, and reverence in today’s world. The program aims to foster a broader discussion on how cultural practices can be adapted and respected in a contemporary context.
Reclaiming the Past: A Film Screening and Panel Discussion
Format: Film Screening + Panel Discussion Target Audience: General Public Objective: Provoke reflection on how cultural heritage and traditional practices can coexist with modern society, encouraging a deeper appreciation for traditional and/or indigenous values.
Description
Screening of a film or documentary that showcases how traditional practices have been altered by modernization and external influences. This will be followed by a panel discussion featuring cultural practitioners, historians, and artists who will explore the themes of the film in relation to Indonesian culture and the exhibition. The public will be encouraged to engage in an open dialogue with the panel.
Outcome: Attendees will reflect on the balance between preserving traditional values and embracing modernity, with an understanding of the challenges posed by external hegemonic influences.
Now for Tomorrow: Re-contextualizing & Re-establishing Culture
Format: Panel Discussions Target Audience: University Students and Academia Objective: Delve deeper into the academic discourse around decolonization, re-contextualization and re-establishment of traditional and indigenous knowledge.
Description
This panel discussion will bring together academics, students, and cultural practitioners to explore the themes of the exhibition through a scholarly lens. The discussion begins with keynote speakers discussing bottom – up decolonization approach in the context of Southeast Asian and global cultures, followed by panel discussions on topics such as the role of myth in pre-colonial societies, the impact of education colonialism on traditional and indigenous knowledge, and the contemporary relevance of traditional cultural practices.
Outcome: Participants will leave the panel discussion with a richer understanding of the intersections between culture, colonization, and modern knowledge systems, hopefully some participants can connect and potentially start or collaborate in a research or project together.
Based on the programs I brainstormed, classes I attended, readings I’m struggling to keep up with, and ideas that emerges from conversations, I came up with the curatorial rationale of an exhibition below:
Curatorial Rationale
A Chaotic Place We’re Heading: Now for Aeons to Come aims to confront the paradox that arise when a society glorifies its heritage while simultaneously participating in its destruction. In Indonesia, much of our traditional culture has been altered or undermined by the dominance of Western knowledge systems and imported religious ideologies, often in the name of modernization and/or being civilized. This exhibition seeks to reclaim, re-contextualize, and re-establish the original values embedded within Indonesia’s traditional practices and values that have been overshadowed and distorted by these hegemonic forces.
The exhibition will invite visitors to examine how Indonesian society has both upheld and damaged its own cultural legacy. By placing emphasis on grassroots knowledge and indigenous practices, we seek to reverse imposition of “modern” perspectives that often dismiss traditional knowledge as irrational or obsolete. Superstitions and myths, for example, are not simply relics of a primitive past. They served as tools for our ancestors to rationalize and navigate the natural and socio-cultural environment long before the coming of Western science.
The exhibition attempts to experiment with a Bottom-Up approach, where the discourse is driven by the very communities whose practices and traditions have been marginalized, rather than the Top-Down approach where decolonization is viewed as a process we must undertake and merely turn into an intellectual endeavor. The exhibition will try to propose that decolonization is the natural outcome of re-establishing and re-contextualizing the cultural values and practices that were suppressed. As we revive these traditional and indigenous narratives, we move towards a more authentic decolonization, one that restores agency to the previously colonized society.
By juxtaposing traditional artifacts and contemporary artworks, the exhibition serves as both a critique and celebration of Indonesian culture. Furthermore, it extends to the political realm where the persistence of political dynasties, which continue to thrive in Indonesia, rooted in the preservation of feudalism since the birth of the Republic. These political dynamics have perpetuated a cycle where cultural practices are simultaneously glorified for their symbolic value, yet stripped of their original meaning and purpose in daily life, ending with the industrialization and commodification of culture and heritage.
In the end, the exhibition is a question on how can we maintain the value of our heritage and cultural practices without stripping them of their original purpose and meaning?
For those who perhaps did not know, I am developing the idea based on Javanese culture (one of the very many cultures in Indonesia), that is because as a Javanese I don’t feel comfortable to “speak” on behalf of other Indonesian Culture for fear of cultural appropriation.
However, I am also aware that the ideas I came up with is also not perfect and may be not factual from Javanese perspective, which emphasizes the suppression of traditional knowledge and practices by colonialism in education, arrival of foreign religious belief, and hegemony of Western education perspectives I mentioned in the curatorial rationale.
Through this project, I don’t seek to give answer or solution on the problems faced by the preservation of heritage and culture, or even decolonization discourse and effort. On the contrary, I would like to ask question and spark discussion on how can we use them in contemporary context? I believe that genuine collective effort will enable us to find not solution, but a better sustainable and equitable approach to maintain what we have now, for aeons to come.
There was a kid who often questions everything and everyone, fascinated by the wonders he read and watch, intriguied with the slightest different ideas in life, wants to know everything in the whole world, looking forward to meet his friends at school, play and learn new things, but he was ridiculed and forced to stop coming to school by the very people who are supposed to look after the education of the younger generation.
He vowed to never return back to school and swears that he will find his way in society without stepping into the formal education system. He decided to be home schooled, teaching him self the things he needs to know and want to know and somehow suceeded obtaining his Junior High School and High School certificate, but realise that he needs to re-enter the formal higher education system. At that time his family was in a financial disadvantage, unable to send him to University of his choice. “Ah if there is no way, I will make way!” is what he thinks so he starts selling freshly made soy milk in the traditional market from 4AM – 7AM, and work at a shoe store from 7AM – 6PM every day Monday to Sunday for 2 years saving a little of his earning for his goal and the rest to support his family. He end up saving enough money to enroll in a small University in his hometown, not his first choice, not his dream University or program, but compromises must be made. Eventually, life becomes a little bit kinder to him, he gets a discount for his tuition, and became a ghost writer for students learning overseas, he was also able to travel various cities in his country from a part time job as a research team. Days turn to weeks, weeks to months, and months to 4 years worth of Undergraduate Degree, he graduated.
Amidst looking for a job to have a better shot in the future, he landed an interview for a job he obviously don’t want but need, he sat in front of the building, smoking. Grey blue-ish smoke exits his mouth and breathed back through his nose, sucking the cancerous nicotine induced moment slighty, giving him the buzz like a short circuited feeling randomly appearing in his brain before finally exhaling it to the air, contributing to the city’s pollution. Just when he finished and was about to enter the office building for the interview, he saw the faces of people inside, they look devastated. He remembers all the things he enjoy, random street gigs, museums, libraries, art galleries, places where he feel most welcomed, random flashes of memories during his home schooling days appears. I want to be in a place I am welcomed and feel belong, I want to work in culture, he says to him self though not sure what he means by it, unsonsciously muttering it to him self, he turn around and never look back.
Not long after he found an opportunity to be a volunteer in an art museum, he was always fascinated by art, the ideas conveyed through the works he often didn’t understood, something he cannot comprehend why, and a promise he made with him self “I want to work in Culture”, and he has to start somewhere. He applied and got the chance to volunteer, it was a big museum, first of it’s kind in his country. As a volunteer gallery sitter, his job is quite simple, “make sure the visitors don’t touch the artwork, and are well informed with the museum’s facilities, you may speak about the exhibition or works with the visitors, and if there is something you don’t know, refer them to the museum’s staff” said the Head of Facility Department. There, he was able to observe how people in the museum work and witness how passionate they are with what they do, he gets to speak with fellow volunteers and visitors about art he likes, and listen to the perspectives of others. He volunteered for 5 days a week, not caring about looking for a job, day by day he commutes from his house at 5AM and arrives in the Museum at 7AM, he then get back home at 5 or 6PM with no complaints.
In a particular pillar in the Museum’s gallery, there is this one painting by a Japanese painter, Yoshihara Jiro, founder of the Gutai Bijutsu Kyoukai group, it was just a simple white circle with a black background, guache on paper, untitled, and yet… There is something that draws him to it. He often spend 5 – 10 minutes before the gallery opens or closes standing in front of the painting in silence, strangely almost religiously admiring it, as if praying to it for something he has yet to know. He enjoys sharing what he thinks of the painting to other people, visitors, fellow volunteers, and museum staffs. Yuugen, translated roughly is mysterious profundity, a beauty that we can feel or sense gushing out of an object, even though the beauty doesn’t exist in the literal sense of the word and cannot be seen directly. He thinks Yoshihara Jiro’s painting has that.
Untitled, Yoshihara Jiro (1905 – 1972)
He was so touched it made him want more people to feel the same way he does, or at least know the reason on why he feels that way. Art is magical, an eerie feeling of happiness always creeped in everytime he see art he likes, music that touches his soul, or stories that moves him. But everything will eventually have to end, like the leaves that wither in autumn. The exhibition ends after a short 6 months, the museum closes preparing for it’s next exhibition. Shamelessly he tried to apply for the Education and Public Program Department of the Museum, he was eager to learn how to further help an artwork speaks to people, and contribute with the little knowledge and expereince he has. Having informal education experience him self, he realizes that learning is not bound by books and classes, learning is a lifelong practice and you can learn beyond the restricition of classroom walls. Just like Yoshihara Jiro said to his Gutai members, “Do what has never been done before!”, he decided that he wants to learn and share about the importance of art and culture to people. “Continuing with what I like isn’t just about enjoyment, I will and must face many difficulties” “Can I really do it? Makes me anxious but I do it precisely because I lacked confidence and want to be better” is what he thinks. But, impostor syndorme is attacking him, anxious waiting for an answer from the museum. One month later, after several interviews, he was accepted, it was one of the happiest day in his life, he felt like he achieved something, not knowing that it was the beginning of a whole adventure full of collective achivements.
After working in the Museum for 3 years, looking around, he still compares him self to other staff, “What is it that only I can do?” he asked. While he is happy and inspired by his mentors, friends, and colleagues in the museum, he always thinks that he is still lacking in so many aspects, the more he learns, the more he is served with questions,.
“It’s all right, all we need to do is enjoy” he said, assuring him self.
Silly him, he did not know that through the public programs and projects he work on tirelessly with his team, there are many people who understands artworks better, realising issues that once was not in their radar, met fellow like minded people to start a project, help them with their studies, even start their own business.
He realizes that a public program in cultural institution is not just supplementary, it is an integral factor of the institution, especially for museum as a vital further learning element. Public programs are designed so that cultural institutions can interact in a two or more ways for further learning, a hub for the public to be able to discuss contemporary topics across interdisciplinary subjects through arts and culture. The kid is now working on the program development and curation for a Culture House, where he realizes, that not just artists, but many craft makers and cultural bearer are facing not just financial challenges but also difficulty on perserving their heritage, identity, and culture. Alone, a cultural artefact can be fascinating, but the value of it is seldom reduced for the sake of capital interest. Lack of research in developing a cultural program, unsustainable tourism that do more harm than good towards grassroot and indigenous communities, unresponsible approach in creative industrialisation of culture, exotisation of cultural bearers and their practice, little to non-existent of policy that’s in favour of grassroot and indigenous community, lack of government support, wrong approach on usage of new technology such as AI, etc. He never encountered this problem during his time working in the art museum, he was comfortable, inside his posh fine art bubble. Once the bubble bursts, he felt it, a streak of feeling of sadness, followed by dissapontment, and then rage… He was angry and like he was back when he was a small wee boy, he said to him self “If there is no way, I will make way”. During his research on how and what can be done to even the odds against all those challenges, while in the same time trying not to fall into some god complex “ooh I’m a saviour” ditch, he met a lot of people, old and new friends, who are struggling to do the same thing.
Sitting in front of his laptop, in an ex-hospital building recycled into a campus in Edinburgh, thinking hard on what he wants to do for an initial Project Idea for his master’s degree. The kid thinks “Maybe, just maybe, I want to make a simple exhibition of artefacts (some artwork, puppets, textiles, and 3D printed weaponries) from my country talking about the chaotic nature of a place called future, that is right in front of us but can never be reached, and one or two public program on how we constantly navigate through the passage of time to avoid the worst possible outcome. And a glistening small light of hope for the future”.
Although he is keen to bring his idea to realisation, he is still not sure how, and once again said to him self “It’s all right, all we need to do is enjoy” assuring him self.
During the intensive session, I am most fascinated with the taxonomy of folktales, travelling from a far away land thousands of kilometers apart, I remember how my home land is rich with folktales from different regions, ethnicities and tribes. As far as I know, there has been no classification attempt, but perhaps I may be wrong.
Storytelling has always fascinates me, just with words a storyteller are able to bring you miles away from the comfort of your home and show you moral values, consequences on unjust deeds, the reward of bravery, etc. But I am particularly interesed with the creeping lurking horrors of the unkown, the damned, appartions, ghosts, and specters.
On Saturday, I had a pleasant conversation with fellow classmates regarding a particular ghost that is shared among several countries in South East Asia which shared a similar physical appearance, a disembodied head of a woman with it’s organ hanging by it’s neck as she floats in the air. It goes by a lot of names different in each region, Ahp in Cambodia, Krasue in Thailand, Ma Lai in Vietnam, Manananggal in the Philippines, and Kuyang in Indonesia (in other part of Indonesia it’s also called Palasik/Pelasik sharing the name with Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei).
I may be wrong, but it also shares a similar diet in every region, blood. It will prey on cattle, water buffallo, chicken, and the one in Indonesia will feed on mothers who just gave birth, new born and/or unborn babies. Kuyang is said to be a woman who practiced black magic, and one of the way for them to increase their magical power is by consuming babies, that is why in some villages in Indonesia, pregnant woman will not let random people touch their belly and carry scissors or a pin in their clothes to protect the unborn child from evil spirits, and one of them being Kuyang/Palasik/Pelasik. Generally, the origin story of this particular apparition is similar, with only slight difference. If anyone fancy to watch a movie about Kuyang in Netflix, you can find it in this link.
There is a saying if you talk about the unseen, it is as if you’re inviting their presence. And despite a belief that ghost cannot cross the ocean, it may be the cold of Edinburgh night in the end of September-or something has responded to my unintentional invitation-a sudden chill crawls down my spine as I’m typing this in my laptop, while ocassionally glancing towards the corner of my room.
Let me take you to the tale of Indonesia’s most beloved or perhaps most feared ghost, Kuntilanak.
This story comes from the capital of West Kalimantan, Indonesia, Pontianak (which is the Bahasa Melayu version of the word Kuntilanak, yes, they name the city after a ghost).
It is told that in the past, Syarif Abdurrahman, the son of Al-Habib Husein, along with his entourage, was seeking new territory outside his father’s kingdom. They then arrived in a new, uninhabited area, an island in the Kapuas River, now known as Batu Layang. Then, Syarif Abdurrahman instructed his followers to cut down trees to build them shelters. The act infuriated the Pontianaks/Kuntilanaks that were inhabiting those trees which then proceeds to disturb the accompanying entourage of Syarif Abdurrahman. According to local legend, Syarif Abdurrahman then commanded his troops to shower canon balls towards the forest in order to chase away the Pontianaks/Kuntilanaks. Afterwards, Kadriah Palace was constructed in that area, in the spot where the legend allegedly took place.
This legend is related with the tradition of firing carbide cannons on the night of Eid in Pontianak to this day.
While the legend may seem like a tale of triumph of modern technology against the superstitions, we can also see it from another point of view where some men decided to rain cannons to a group of indigenous spectral women defending their tree house.
There is one question left unanswered, what is the origin story of Kuntilanak?
Are they natural spiritual entities? Or once a human and turns into a rageful spirit?
One of the most popular origin story is that Kuntilanak is the spirit of a women who either died in childbirth or by the hands of men. Legends say that in the night, Kuntilanak will disguise themselves as a rather good looking woman, and will tear the guts of any men who dare to approach them. Kuntilanak is often portrayed wearing white tunic clothes with long dark hair and it is said that her presence is signaled by the fragrant hint of jasmine which grew stronger, and as you took every breathe, it gradually turns into a metallic smell of blood mixed with that of a pungent rotting corpse. Another rather iconic aspect from Kuntilanak is her laughter which sounds quite similar to a witch’s laughter, it is said that if you hear the laughter near you that means the Kuntilanak is far away, however if you hear it far away…
Like all other folktales, ghost stories too serves a purpose in society. It may be a simple story about moral righteousness, or a way to make children obey their parents to not wander out past the dusk, or perhaps that of resistance. In movies and pop culture, Kuntilanak is portrayed as en entity born from a sorrowful experience, victim of sexual violence, murder, child birth gone wrong, etc. But perhaps we can also perceived Kuntilanak as a morphic resonance of subversive feminine energy that exacts revenge against men who have wronged them, and becomes a symbol of resistance against patriarchy and misogyny common in South East Asia society. The horror of Kuntilanak in recent Indonesian pop culture reminds me of the concept of Monstrous-Feminine written by psychoanalist Barbara Creed. This is just my personal opinion, but maybe the legend of Kuntilanak is a way for people to talk about and fight injustice which often happened to women in traditional society in South East Asia.
As a genre, Supernatural Horror is often regarded as a cheap entertainment with outdated concept, but the thing that modern people often forget is that there must be a reason these stories of figures lurking behind the shadows appears all across cultures around the world as a collective fear, and understanding the reason and looking deeper into these stories, legends, myths, will provide us with various informations from society’s view on certain moral value, local knowledges, and even natural phenomenons that happens around us.
To close this first blog which I somehow make into a horror blog, I would like to recommend 3 Indonesian Horror movies to start your SpooKtober:
