Visual Arts

Museum of Memory

OzAsia Museum of Memory JumaadiJumaadi & Mawarini
Flinders University Pendopo
15 September – 20 October 2010

The Museum of Memory is a multimedia work comprising works on paper by Jumaadi and Mawarini, installation, performance and music, with musician, David Kotlowy, Gamelan player, Seker Laras, and dancer, Ade Suharto.

The Pendopo (a large Javanese House) was a welcoming sight as one followed down the steps to a glass ‘house’ with bright candles flickering as part of the installation in the centre of the enclosure. Barefoot audience members were sitting in a semicircle on the floor and on chairs against the glass. Arriving early sometimes has its merits as, by the start of the performance, people were lined outside watching from the glass enclosure.

Kali commenced narrating the story of the Sidoarjo people who have been affected by an ongoing mudflow since 2006, causing displacement of peoples. Suharto performed to the narration with flowing slow movements, between acting and dance, accompanied by evocative music. Towards the end, the musicians joined the performance. The gentle ambiance, which surrounds the audience, expresses a complexity that the audience feels sadness, at the loss of land, place and people. The Pendopo is an open studio until the 20 October 2010 for the community and visitors to interact and talk with the artists, as this is a work in progress. There will be a performance on the final night.

Reviewed by Gina De Pieri Salvi, Visual Arts Critic, Glam Adelaide.

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