OUTSIDE/INSIDE

A duo exhibition by Andrea Juwono and Jessica Tanto (2018)

This exhibition was an end project after a 6 months art residency awarded by Serrum, Remedial in Gudang Sarinah Ekosistem.

There remains an ongoing ethnic tension in Indonesia between the Chinese-Indonesian and non-Chinese-Indonesians ('pribumi'). In this exhibition, Jessica and Andrea explore their ethnic roots as individuals born and raised in Indonesia. They investigated the impacts of historical tragedies experienced by their parents and ancestors on the discrimination they currently face as Chinese-Indonesians living in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The exhibition space was divided into 2 spaces, OUTSIDE (Andrea's space) and INSIDE (Jessica's space), making reference to the terms 'outsider' and 'insider' commonly used to discuss group discrimination issues. All audiences had to remove their shoes before entering the exhibition space, a common practice before entering homes in Indonesia. The exhibition took place for 7 days, from 3-10 March 2018.

INSIDE

Enter Jessica's space

Jessica featured 6 artworks in this show.

1. First encounter

A performance and photography work exploring the contact hypothesis theory the artist has experienced herself. The contact hypothesis theory states that contact between members of 2 opposing groups is the most efficient way of reducing tension between the 2 groups.

Medium: Black bodypaint, Ilford disposable B&W camera, white space, TV displaying performance documentation after the opening day.

Documentation of First Encounter performance during the opening night. Voiced-over during edit.

2. Jasa Gambar Jiwa (Soul Drawing Service)

Drawing strangers with eyes closed. Relying on the soul of the stranger perceived through a 30 minutes deep conversation rather than their physical appearance. Works made were exhibited along with documentation video of the process.

Medium: Chinese calligraphy ink on A4 drawing paper.

3. Dimsum

9 traditional dimsum baskets used to serve dimsums in Chinese restaurants are placed on a table. The audience are invited to open the closed dimsum baskets to reveal the food inside them (some Chinese food others not). The artwork also provided the food for the audience during the opening night.

4. Cries from Prejudice

The artwork contains several stories of prejudice and racial discrimination experienced by individuals from Jakarta, told in the form of a midnight rant call from a best friend.

5. Mei Ying

Mei Ying is the artist's Chinese name but also translates to pretty eyes in Chinese. The artist depicts the eyes of her friends from different ethnic backgrounds using acrylic and a painter's knife. She then created a wall sculpture of her own eye using transparent sellotape, a material often used to create a fake double eyelid. This artwork was based on the artist's personal experience of racism within her own family.

6. Process Corner

When speaking of ongoing racial tensions it is also important to look at the past events and decisions which may have lead to this point. The Process Corner depicts the process, trial & error experimentations while creating the artworks. The corner also offers the audience a space to process everything they have experienced in the exhibition while looking through Jessica's personal visual diaries.

Read Rianto's review about this exhibition