Heri Dono Madman Butterfly

Heri Dono Madman Butterfly

Madman Butterfly Sacha Craddock

previous pages: The Scapegoat Republic (detail) 2011 acrylic on canvas 150 x 200 cm (59 x 79 in)

Heri Donos work might come with layers of meaning, expectation, message and irony, but he wants to keep things simple. He works in a range of media installation, painting, theatre and sculptureas well as sculpture on wheels, what he calls vehicle art, and exhibits his work for local and international audiences. At one level, at least, he is among the first internationally celebrated Indonesian artists to emphasise, even indulge in or play on the local: instead of using what used to be called the international language of art, the language of magazine and market, Dono draws from within the body of his native Indonesian society to question its structure and methods. He says that as an artist he has to be quick and clever. So in simple ways, he fashions creatures that straddle the line between the serious and the souvenir, with no interest in the notion of the avant-garde. Indonesia is such a mixture of peoples and its society is constructed in such a way that Dono automatically functions within a pool of cultural complexity. Born in Jakarta in 1960, he has maintained a steady and constant body of work and completed numerous residencies all over the world, in Australia, Canada, Germany, the United States and elsewhere. When he first showed his work abroad in the mid-1990s, it was perhaps likely to have been appreciated for being exotic as much as anything else. However, over the past three and a half decades, an increase in travel during the postcolonial era and the rise of the Internet have meant that his work can now be viewed as art in its own right at a global level. Based in Yogyakarta, the heart of Javanese culture as well as the centre of Indonesian contemporary art, Dono studied art at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts,

and then learned the craft of wayang kulit, traditional shadow puppetry. It is an interesting trajectory, to go from a more contemporary art education to a craft of which the first performance was recorded more than a thousand years ago. However, he has pointed out that his government invests in the past and encourages the practice of traditional modes of artistic expression as means of countering new ones. This trajectory has therefore allowed him to pursue a substantial career in opposing, undermining or at least underlining the methods of the State. In 1996, Donos first solo show in Britain, Blooming in Arms at the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, brought a fantastic but disturbing set of apparently half-man, half-tree figures on fine, false prosthetic legs parading with gunsincorporating the false legs as a reference to landmines. The figures all maintain a built theatricality that is closely associated with his work. Here he made the point that while the Indonesian government was launching a campaign to encourage people to plant trees in a quasi-Green initiative, it was also systematically deforesting Sumatra, Kalimantan and Irian Jaya. In his theatrical work, Dono assumes a given relationship to the protagonist, a fixed expectation that devolves from the role of the character in the puppet theatre that itself originated in Java as well as India and elsewhere. Through his use of folk media, such as puppetry, which is more about tradition than either high or low art, he makes a sideways approach to the obvious. This approach is a long way away from the Cool Britannia of the 1990s when Young British Artists seemed in total accord with the desires of the New Labour government.

Dono has long played the fool, the pleaser and the provider of popular experience. Appearing to be neither complex nor contrary, he uses a robust artistic stance to bypass formal concern. This well-worn theatrical device, however, also has a sinister and tawdry aspect. For Nobodys Land at Galeri Nasional Indonesia in Jakarta in 2008, a whole series of angels with smooth, wood heads and heightened blush on their cheeks hovered to become perfectly staged images of freedom. Eachwith an open panel at its chest and beatific smileappeared to fly. They could flap their wings yet went nowhere, trapped, as they were, in their own autonomous world. All of his three-dimensional works play with imperfection, insisting that the means for escape and enchantment is purely theatrical. Flying Golek (2011) is a veritable chorus line of angels suspended by wires from the ceiling like puppets. He repeats figures and images to fill and suit an individual space, to make a crowd. Each angel, made from a range of materials, uses the painters trick where the paint not only describes but literally mimics what it describes. Here, the angels heads are actual wayang golek wooden puppet heads, while the bodies are made of fibreglass and the wings from papiermch. The rounded fibreglass surface protects a heartlike organ crafted from electrical scraps, which according to Dono allude to our ability to mend and make do. They also remind us of the childhood disappointment of discovering the trap door for the battery under the skirt of a talking or crying doll. This dismantling, or partial disclosure, allows him to point out the limitation of romantic faith in the possibility of art. A toy, sculpture or machine can be close to us technologically, and yet almost, nearly, not working. The artists use of low-tech, low-level wiring recalls 7

the early days of stumbling, ambling fallibility, rather than a smoothly remote-controlled creature that walks across the stage. A series of long-nosed automatons in Fermentation of Nose (2011) sits at numbered desks, staring into space with somewhat inward-looking, dead eyes. The mechanised creatures nod in unison and seem to agree, yet at the same time, the following questions arise: Who is in charge? Who is listening? Where is the process of learning directed? Is this a schoolroom? Who is teaching what, to whom? Is there a militaristic undertone once again? This use of easy, visible mechanisation is important to Dono; it shows that the inevitable harnessing of scientific intelligence by the State can cause trouble. I mix animation with animism, he says. Both are based on the belief that everything has a soul. From this point, I make sociopolitical commentary using humour. The mechanisation suggests something that stumbles, something that can be overpowered, broken down and usurped. It is perfect. Yet instead of formal questioning, this artist starts with a projection into each of his characters, whether painted, sculpted, mechanised or performed. There is definitely a truth, a reality, to each character. The faith put into a puppet is like that of a toy: a child knows that the toy is real and, in formal terms, it is. Rather than expressionisma bearing of the soul for Dono, humour is key. He uses the tactics of animated film, the familiarity of cartoons, where legs spin for hours over the side of a cliff before the character eventually drops. With a deep knowledge of and love for childrens cartoons, animation and comics, he incorporates the theatrical structure of 8

pretence, action, narrative and change into his work. He is inspired by historical sourcesfrom Romanesque manuscripts to Javan painted scrolls, and from the Beano to Dan Dare to Manga comicsin which artists have drawn narration across the page as a simple device to show the passage of time; where the narrative scans through squares in the same way that film runs through the gate of a projector. It is always difficult for an artist to compete with the narrative created by mechanisation and film. The inanimate object can be distressing for an art student: This thing just does not do enough. Yet Dono successfully harnesses the history of theatre through repetitive movement and the circularity of narrative tale-telling, and manages, in his painting, sculpture, installation and performance, to thwart the emptiness that can surround the contemporary art object. Dono not only indulges in the local, but also creates in a very localised context; the desire to appeal internationally has never really entered his work. It is important, though, to consider the aforementioned changes that have taken place over the time he has been working, and their impact on the emergence of an international language and the role of artists to represent exactly the opposite. This is not to say that there is such an extreme polarisation between the local and the international. But for this artist, the use of traditional methods means a deliberate desire to immerse himself in exactly the most obvious placein traditionin order to undermine or look properly at the State in which he lives. Indonesia has a Muslim population of more than two hundred million, larger than any other country in the world, yet Hinduism, Christianity and Buddhism are also
Salto Mortale (Terjun Bebas) 2011 acrylic on canvas 200 x 300 cm (79 x 118 in) not included in the exhibition

represented there. Indonesia is so large, its population so culturally varied, that a recent news report suggested a ban on noisy children who parade the streets at 3:00 a.m. to wake Muslims to eat during Ramadan in order to respect the rights of non-Muslims to a good nights sleep. It could be said that Dono not only quotes from and uses the traditional art form of wayang, with its use of outline, extreme distortion and comic storytelling, but that he is reviving it, making it actual, real and active today. Puppetry is encouraged as part of a so-called Javanisation of Indonesia. There is also the tendency to use more popular art forms to reinvestigate practice. In Indonesia, art is a very powerful medium that has, especially through decades of theatre, carried the tradition not only of criticism of the State but also of subversion (through underground news and notices). Puppetry, a distinct world within a world, has the contained confines of the State that are ideal

for make-believe, just as the European characters Punch and Judy carried the news of the day; insights into the relationship between a husband, wife and baby; a string of sausages and sometimes even the obligatory crocodile. But such fixed images and rules, used over and over, can become formulaic, and therefore invisible. When it comes to painting, Dono has a consistent yet questioning relationship. At one point, he even said that he was not very interested in making paintings because they had become so much of a commodity. He did, however, train as a painter, and admires painting as a traditional art form. So he uses the medium, he says, as a diary of life, as a way of bringing together layers of historical understanding. The characters in his Salto Mortale (Terjun Bebas) (2011), for instance, contain these layers, and at the same time, use action: little creatures leap from two typical Dono vehicles, painted representations of his vehicle art, 9

flying like suicidal swifts to jump up and down and then out into a perilously full toilet bowl. He achieves a real rush with this work. His subjects, part historical, part cartoon, do what they would in character, acting out, over and over again. Although it is generally accepted than an artist is free to paint whatever he or she wants, for this artist the continual reinvestment in a repertoire of characters is key. Instead of reinventing the alphabet, he looks to comedic TV cartoons in works such as Going Away from the Television Life (2008), which also has an affinity with Liberty Leading the People (1830) by Delacroix. A true artist of the world, Dono studied the work of Klee, Mir, Picasso and Kandinsky at art school. While he expertly uses the characters of puppetry, the Javanese wayang scroll stories and lukisan kaca (the anonymous art of reverse-painting on glass from northwest Java), he is fascinated by merging himself and his work with Western concepts as well as with ideas of the retention and denial of authorship. The perhaps oversimplified distinction between colonial and postcolonial painting in Indonesia, the East versus West dichotomy, is represented by more traditional painting styles, such as work by mainly Dutch artists visiting the colonies. But it is also seen in work by Indonesian artists, which similarly makes for lovely landscape painting with little reference to a real, live context. Just after Indonesias four-year war of independence from the Dutch, and the handover of sovereignty in 1949, a group of artists called for a new and nationalistic art form, and decided they would reject the old colonial view, exemplified by the Mooi Indie, or beautiful Indies, representation of landscape.

From Mexico to Indonesia, mountains have always provided special sources of power and inspiration for artists. The mountain is symbolic in Indonesian culture; it designates a spiritually charged site where discussion between gods and mortals can take place, and from which gods can descend to the Earth. In Indonesia, artists are traditionally seen as mediators between the mystical and the real. Donos painting, The Sadness Spirit of Mount Merapi (2010), shows a sickness within the mountain: the figure of the spirit in the mountain lies ill within the outline of the projecting landmass. It has long been said that when Merapi erupts, great political change will touch the world. Since Merapi erupted in November 2010an eruption so powerful that a nearby river dried up and steam rose from the ground for months afterwardsit is believed that there really has been a seismic shift in the world. His recent paintings are lavish with imagery and incorporate rich colours. In The Escape King of Thief (2011), for instance, each character carries the same telltale tongues, along with wheels and mechanised potholes inside his or her chest. Other works show us the range of Donos invention: wine falls out of holes in various bodies and fills the surface of the canvas; there are nails, many eyes, bicycle people, automatons, bad greedy animals and animated creatures celebrating the bounty. Pinocchio is lying; he has a very long nose and eyes like little snouts; there are extended antennae, two eyes, three eyes, two nostrils and high colour. In The King of Peace Jaja Perdamaian (2011), a hybrid character a conglomerate of a current politician and a mythological figureis automated, multidirectional, with holes or stigmata on his hands, crumpled arched arms and tongues of fire with wine falling out of

the bottom of his mechanical bodywork into a very small glass. Berebut Pepesan Kosang (2009) depicts snapping, pushy Ninja-type characters with split, serpent-like tongues and small sexual organs facing each other over a running stream. Each wears red boots and sports a miners lamp on his head. There is a strong sense of pace and movement as they push forward across the water, which works its way back to the far corner, creating an illusionary space. Dono treats the subjects of his paintings in very much the same way as he treats the three-dimensional pupils at their desks. Yet with these almost perfunctory paintings, he really clowns around. After all, as Dono so brilliantly shows, the painting is the trying-out place where relationships can be invented, and characters can jump and spin and stand on each other without repercussion.

following pages: Two Clown Heads with Angels (detail) 2011 acrylic on canvas 150 x 200 cm (59 x 79 in)

Sacha Craddock lives and works in London. She is the Chair of Bloomberg New Contemporaries, Chair of Braziers International Artists Workshop, Co-founder of ArtSchool Palestine, Public Art Advisor for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and, currently, Director of Programme at Max Wigram Gallery. From 2003 to 2011, she was Curator at Bloomberg SPACE and Postgraduate Tutor at the Royal College of Art and Royal Academy Schools.

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Flying to the Angels Freedom 2011 acrylic on canvas 150 x 200 cm (59 x 79 in)

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previous pages: Merdeka atau Belum 2011 acrylic on canvas 150 x 200 cm (59 x 79 in) opposite: Garuda Extraterrestrial 2007 acrylic on canvas 150 x 200 cm (59 x 79 in)

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Olympia Released the Bad Spirit 2011 acrylic on canvas 150 x 200 cm (59 x 79 in)

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opposite: Mati Ketawa ala USA 2011 acrylic on canvas 200 x 150 cm (79 x 59 in) following pages: The King Frog 2011 acrylic on canvas 150 x 200 cm (59 x 79 in)

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previous pages: The Big Brother 2011 acrylic on canvas 150 x 200 cm (59 x 79 in) opposite: The Scapegoat Republic 2011 acrylic on canvas 150 x 200 cm (59 x 79 in)

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Three Presidential Candidates 2009 acrylic on canvas 150 x 200 cm (59 x 79 in)

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Two Presidential Candidates 2008 acrylic on canvas 150 x 200 cm (59 x 79 in)

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Two Clown Heads with Angels 2011 acrylic on canvas 150 x 200 cm (59 x 79 in)

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War Culture 2008 acrylic on canvas 200 x 150 cm (79 x 59 in)

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Biography

Born in Jakarta, 12 June 1960 Currently resides in Yogyakarta Heri Dono is unquestionably one of Indonesias foremost contemporary artists. Best known for his installations that are inspired by experiments with wayang, the popular Javanese folk theatre, he has participated in exhibitions and workshops in Asia, Australia, Europe and the United States. In wayang, a number of elementsvisual arts, singing, music, storytelling, mythology, promotion of a philosophy of life, social criticism and humourmerge to create a coherent performance. These elements are coupled with wayangs unique setting, which provides space for social interaction with the audience. Through his complex multimedia installations and performances, Dono creatively revitalises this traditional art practice and harnesses the power of performance and interactivity. As a result, his works engage in intense dialogues with their audiences. Donos paintings depict wild deformations and free fantasies, out of which emerge characters of wayang stories. His profound knowledge of childrens cartoons, animated films and comics is also reflected in his canvases, which are filled with the highly astonishing characters of intertwined fantastic and absurd stories. Into many of these works, Dono inserts his own critical remarks on sociopolitical issues in Indonesia and abroad.

EDUCATION: 198788 Studied Wayang KuIit with Sukasman in Yogyakarta, Indonesia 198087 Indonesia Institute of the Arts, Yogyakarta, Indonesia RESIDENCIES: 2008 Workshop, Flinders Medical Centre, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia 2007 Artist in Residence, Ernst Busch University, Berlin, Germany Artist in Residence, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia 2006 Artist in Residence, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany 2005 Artist in Residence, Australian Print Workshop, Melbourne, Australia The International Jury of the Xl Triennial India, New Delhi, India Artist in Residence, United Sardine Factory, Bergen, Norway Artist in Residence, Australia Indonesia Arts Alliance, Byron Bay, Australia 2004 Workshop with DIDA Escola de Msica, So Salvador de Bahia, Brazil Sound Art Seminar, Kunstakademiet Bergen, Bergen, Norway Fellowship for Curatorial Work, IFA Institute, Stuttgart, Germany, in Ethnologisches Museum, Berlin, Germany 2003 Artist in Residence, Australian Print Workshop, Melbourne, Australia Contemporary Asian Art Forum, Links, Platforms, Networks, Asian Art Archive, Hong Kong 2002 Artist in Residence, Western Front Society, Vancouver, Canada Artist in Residence, Queensland College of Art, South Bank, Australia, and Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia Artist in Residence, National Institute of Education, Singapore 2000 Artist in Residence, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, USA 1999 Cyfuniad International Artists Workshop, Wales, UK Artist in Residence, Queensland College of Art, Brisbane, Australia Artist in Residence, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand 1996 Artist in Residence, Townsville, North Queensland, Australia 1995 Artist in Residence, Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, UK, with Institute of International Visual Arts, London, UK

199091 International Artists Exchange Program, Christoph Merian Stiftung, Basel, Switzerland SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS/PROJECTS: 2011 Pinocchio Syndrome, Hong Kong International Art Fair, Hong Kong, organised by Edwins Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia Hommage an Raden Saleh, Schloss Maxen, Dresden, Germany The Lost Magician, Alexander Ochs Galleries, Berlin, Germany, and Beijing, China 2009 Comedy of Error, Jan Manton Art, Brisbane, Australia The Dono Code, Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Heridonology, Jogja Gallery, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Shadow of Trojan Horse, Galeri Tondi, Medan, North Sumatera, Indonesia 2008 Post-Ethnology Museum, Gaya Art Space, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia Nobodys Land, Galeri Nasional Indonesia, organised by Edwins Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia Ose Tara LiaI see nothing, Oz Asia Festival, Artspace, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide, Australia Heri Dono: Pleasures of Chaos, Walsh Gallery, Chicago, USA The Dying King & I, Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia 2007 Angels: Bang! Bang!, Sherman Galleries, Sydney, Australia The Dream Republic, South Australian School of Art Gallery, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia 2006 Heri WAR Dono, Soemardja Gallery, Bandung, Indonesia Civilization Oddness, Walsh Gallery, Chicago, USA 2005 Free-D.O.M., Stiftelsen 3,14, Bergen, Norway 2004 Whos Afraid of Donosaurus?, Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia, organised by Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia 2003 Upside Down Mind, Circle Point Art Space, Washington, D.C., USA Heri Dono, Australian Print Workshop, Melbourne, Australia Heri Dono: A Spiritual Journey, Semarang Gallery, Semarang, Indonesia 2002 Interrogation, Center A, Vancouver, Canada Heri Provokes Heri, Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia Free-D.O.M., Bentara Budaya, Jakarta, Indonesia Reworking Tradition I & II, Singapore Art Museum, Glass Hall,

Nanyang Playhouse, National Institute of Education, Singapore 2001 The Traps Outer Rim, Cemeti Art House, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Fortress of the Heart by Heri Dono, Gajah Gallery, Singapore 2000 Heri Dono: Dancing Demons and Drunken Deities, Japan Foundation Forum, Tokyo, Japan Humor and Rumor in Republic of Cartoon, Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia 1999 Mythical Monsters in Contemporary Society by Heri Dono, Gajah Gallery, Singapore Virtual Reality, Erasmus Huis, Jakarta, Indonesia Tirtara, French Cultural Center, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 1997 Tanah dari Merapi, French Cultural Center, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 1996 Blooming in Arms, Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, UK 1993 The Chair, Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Canberra, Australia 1991 Unknown Dimensions, Museum der Kulturen, Basel, Switzerland 1988 Cemeti Contemporary Art Gallery, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Mitra Budaya Indonesia Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia Bentara Budaya, Yogyakarta, Indonesia SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS/PROJECTS: 2011 Negotiating Home, History and Nation: Two Decades of Contemporary Art in Southeast Asia 19912011, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore Art I Jog I 11, Taman Budaya Jogjakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Pameran Besar Patung Kontemporer Indonesia: Ekspansi, Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta, organised by SIGIarts, Jakarta, Indonesia Jakarta Berlin Arts Festival, foyer art performance, Admiralspalast, Berlin, Germany Trans-Figurations: Mythologies Indonsiennes, Espace Culturel Louis Vuitton, Paris, France Indonesian Eye: Fantasies & Realities, Ciputra World Marketing Gallery, Jakarta, organised by Parallel Contemporary Art, London, UK Opera Jawa, collaboration performance with Garin Nugroho, Muse du Quai Branly, Paris, France Art Stage Singapore, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, organised by Vanessa Art Link, Jakarta, Indonesia Do It, Kunsthalle Faust, Hannover, Germany 1001 Doors: Reinterpreting Traditions, Ciputra World Marketing

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Gallery, Jakarta, organised by ArtSociates Lawangwangi, Bandung, Indonesia Castlemaine Visual Arts Biennial, Castlemaine State Festival, Victoria, Australia Public project, IRISAN, Grand Indonesia, Jakarta, organised by Andis Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia E(art)H Project: Green Sustainable, Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia Art Motoring I: Motion & Reflection, Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia 2010 Made in Indonesia, Galerie Christian Hosp, Berlin, Germany Utopia, Dystopia, Disturbia, Woodford Folk Festival, Queensland, Australia Art Paris + Guests, Grand Palais, Paris, France Ciptura Artpreneurship, Ciputra World Marketing Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia Pameran Besar Seni Rupa Indonesia 2010 Manifesto, Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia, organised by Vanessa Art Link, Jakarta, Indonesia Green Festival: Sustainable Artainability, The Ritz-Carlton, Jakarta, Pacific Place, Indonesia Jogjakarta Art Festival, Taman Budaya Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Crossing & Blurring the Boundaries: Medium in Indonesian Contemporary Art, Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia Opera Jawa, collaboration performance with Garin Nugroho, Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Reinterpreting S. Soedjojono, Galeri Canna, Jakarta, Indonesia Ethnicity Now, Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia 2009 Utopia, Dystopia, Disturbia, Woodford Folk Festival, Queensland, Australia The Simple Art Parodi, Taipei Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, Taiwan Expo sign, 25th Anniversary of Institut Seni Indonesia, Yogyakarta, Jogja Expo Center, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Tsunami, shadow play, Lustgarten, Berlin, Germany T-shirt, Walsh Gallery, Chicago, USA Kado, Anniversary of Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia 2008 Refleksi Ruang dan Waktu, V-Art Gallery, Bentara Budaya, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Self-Portrait, Jogja Gallery, Yogyakarta, Indonesia A Decade of Dedication: Ten Years Revisited, Selasar Sunaryo Art Space, Bandung, Indonesia Christmas, Valentine Willie Fine Art, Manila, The Philippines Salon Jogja, CG Art Space, Jakarta, Indonesia

Dari Penjara ke Pigura, Galeri Salihara, Jakarta, Indonesia After Forty, Sangkring Art Space, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Expose #1: A Presentation of Indonesian Contemporary Art by Deutsche Bank & Nadi Gallery, Four Seasons Hotel, Jakarta, Indonesia Manifesto, Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia A New Force of South East Asia: Group Exhibitions of Indonesian Contemporary Artists, Asia Art Centre, Beijing, China, collaboration with Edwins Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia China International Gallery Exposition 2008, Beijing, China, Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia 2007 Wind from the East, Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland Indonesian Contemporary Art Now, Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia Conscience CelebrateSeptember Art Events, fine art exhibition, organised by Edwins Gallery, Gandaria City, Jakarta, Indonesia Imagined Affandi, Gedung Arsip Nasional, Jakarta, Indonesia IVAA BOOKAID vol. 01/07, Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia Soft Power: Asian Attitude, Zendai Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai, China Re-Kreasi 80, Class of 1980 ASRI, STSRI ASRI, ISI Reunion, Jogja National Museum, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 2006 The Inoyama Donation: A Tale of Two Artists, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore 2005 Exhibition of Indoor Collections, Kirishima Open-Air Museum, Kagoshima, Japan About Beauty, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany Eksodus Barang, Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia BETA. 20, Post-Electronic Art Performances, Theatre Garasijn, Bergen, Norway Festival Inspirasi, Dewaruci, performance, Byron Bay, Australia Floating Legacies, Selasar Sunaryo Art Space, Bandung, Indonesia 21st and Beyond: Reception, Edwins Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia Licking the Ozone, performance, Melbourne Fringe Festival, Lithuanian Club, Melbourne, Australia Equatorial Heat, Edwins Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia, supported by Coutts Bank 2004 The 2nd Enku Grand Award Exhibition, The Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu, Japan Land Under the Rainbow, Cultural Olympiad, Benaki Contemporary Art Museum, Athens, Greece 4th Art Summit Indonesia 2004, Performing and Visual Arts, Galeri Nasional, Jakarta, Indonesia Transindonesia: Scooping Culture in Contemporary Indonesian Art, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand

On the Edge: Indonesia and China Avant-garde, The Pakubuwono Residence, Jakarta, Indonesia Reformasi, Sculpture Square, Singapore Olympics, The Pakubuwono Residence, Jakarta, Indonesia, organised by Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia Artists Are Making a House, Nijo-machi Prefecture, Museum City Project, Fukuoka, Japan The Angel Garden, EsplanadeTheatres on the Bay, Singapore Equatorial Heat, Sichuan Museum, Chengdu, Sichuan, China, organised by Edwins Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia Z.O.U., Zone of Urgency, Reggio Calabria (Villa Zerbi), Italy Frankenstein versus Gatotkaca, performance, Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Ethnologisches Museum, Berlin, Germany The Nature Machine: Contemporary Art, Nature and Technology, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia 2003 Summer Spectacular Kids APT, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia Budaya Bumi Berbudaya, Museum Benteng Vredeburg, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Epic, Gajah Gallery, Singapore Imagining Prometheus, Palazzo della Ragione Loggia dei Mercanti, Milan, Italy Crossing Boundaries, Bali: A Window to Twentieth-Century Indonesian Art, travelling exhibition, Asia Society AustralAsia Centre, Melbourne, Australia Happiness: A Survival Guide for Art and Life, Mori Art Museum, Roppongi, Tokyo, Japan Public art project, Muza Concert Hall, Kawasaki, Japan Running Puppet, performance, The Survival and Innovation of Crafts, Royal Palace, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Zaman Edan, Bentara Budaya Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Kado, Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia 2002 Eye, Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia Interrogation, shadow play, Western Front Society, Vancouver, Canada The Wild of Imagination, Langgeng Gallery, Magelang, Indonesia Zwischen Tradition und Moderne: Junge Knstler aus Indonesien, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museen Dahlem, Ethnologisches Museum, Berlin, Museum fr Vlkerkunde der Stadt Kln, Cologne, Germany AWAS! Recent Art from Indonesia, Prss & Ochs Gallery, Asian Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany Asian Vibe, EAAC, Valencia, Spain EV+A 2002: Heroes + Holies, Limerick City Gallery of Art, Limerick, Ireland International Contemporary Art Fair, Madrid, Spain 2001 Floating Chimeras, Edsvik von Culture, Sollentuna, Sweden

Between Sound and Vision, Gallery 400, University of Illinois, Chicago, USA Artists Commission, Asia Society, New York, USA Membaca Frida Kahlo, Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia The Opening of New Art Center Yogyakarta, Indonesia Unpacking Europe, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands AWAS! Recent Art from Indonesia, W139, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; travelled to Ludwig Forum fr Internationale Kunst, Aachen and Cologne, Germany Pink Project, Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia 2000 Sonic Boom, Hayward Gallery, London, UK 12 Asian Artists, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Humanism in Art, Volkenkundig Museum Nusantara, Delft, The Netherlands Fuori Uso, Pescara, Italy AWAS! Recent Work from Indonesia, Museums in Hokkaido, Osaka and Fukuoka, Japan 1999 Media dalam Media, Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia Cities on the Move: Urban Chaos and Change, Louisiana Museum of Moderne Kunst, Humlebk, Denmark; travelled to Hayward Gallery, London, UK; Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland and Siam Centre, Bangkok, Thailand Knalpot, fine art exhibition, Cemeti Art House, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Sound Culture, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand Makassar Arts Forum 99, Ujung Pandang, South Sulawesi, Indonesia AWAS! Recent Work from Indonesia, Museum Benteng Vredeburg, Yogyakarta, Indonesia; travelled to CCA, Melbourne and Canberra, Australia Tachikawa International Arts Festival, Tokyo Prefecture, Tokyo, Japan 1998 Resurrection of Topos 3, collaboration between artists and architects, Toyama Shimin Plaza, Toyama, Japan Images of Power: Expressions of Cultural and Social Awareness in Southeast Asia, Jakarta International School, Jakarta, Indonesia Tradition/Tension, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth Cultural Center, Perth, Australia; travelled to Taipei Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, Taiwan 50th Anniversary of Human Rights, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands 1997 Sounding Sphere, Harima Science Garden City Opening, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan Innenseite, Projektgruppe Stoffwechsel, Kassel, Germany Biennial Yogyakarta V, Taman Budaya, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Wayang Gepuk Wayang Alternatif, Bentara Budaya, Jakarta, Indonesia

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Exploring the Future of the Imagination, The Intercommunication Center, Tokyo, Japan Asian Contemporary Art, Base Gallery, Tokyo, Japan Cities on the Move, Secession, Vienna, Austria A Gift for India, New Delhi, India 1996 Modernity and Beyond, National Museum of Modern Art, Singapore Orientation, Stedelijk Museum De Lakenhal, Leiden, The Netherlands The Huid van De Witte Dame, Arctic Foundation, Eindhoven, The Netherlands Drawing, Institute of International Visual Arts, London, UK Traditions/Tensions, Contemporary Art in Asia, Asia Society, New York, USA The Spiritual and The Social: Nine Artists from Thailand, Indonesia and The Philippines, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia 1995 Vision of Happiness, The Japan Foundation Art Forum, ASEAN Culture Center, Akasaka and Tokyo, Japan Unity in Diversity: Contemporary Art of the Non-Aligned Countries, Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia Kurbis, Museum fr Vlkerkunde, Basel, Switzerland Unity in Diversity: Contemporary Art of the Non-Aligned Countries, Galeri Utama, Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta, Indonesia 1994 Adelaide Installations, Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia Kuda Binal, performance, 24HR Art Gallery, Northern Territory Centre for Contemporary Art, Darwin, Australia The Jakarta International Art Exhibition 1994, The Indonesian Fine Arts Foundation (catalogue), Indonesia 9th Asian International Art Exhibition, National Museum of History, Taipei, Taiwan Realism as an Attitude, 4th Asian Art Show Fukuoka, Fukuoka Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan Super Suburb, Museum City Tenjin 94, Fukuoka, Japan 1993 Indonesian Modern Art: Indonesian Painting Since 1945, Gate Foundation, De Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, The Netherlands International Festival of Puppetry in the World, Taman Budaya, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 1992 Sanggar Dewata: Indonesian Art Exhibition, Museum Nyoman Gunarsa, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 7th Asian International Art Exhibition, Gedung Merdeka, Bandung, Indonesia Kuda Binal, performance, Alun-Alun Utara, Yogyakarta, Indonesia New Art from Southeast Asia 1992, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space;

travelled to Fukuoka, Hiroshima and Osaka, Japan 1991 Sama-Sama, Centrum Beeldende Kunst Oosterpoort, Groningen, The Netherlands; travelled to Tilburg, The Netherlands, and Yogyakarta and Jakarta, Indonesia Wayang: From Gods to Bart Simpson, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada Man and Human Expression, Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Wayang Top, performance, International Culture Camp Desa Apuan, Tabanan, Bali, Indonesia Destructive Images, performance, Seni Sono Gallery and Malioboro, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 1990 Modern Indonesian Art: Three Generations of Tradition and Change, 19451990, Festival of Indonesia 1990, Sewall Gallery, Rice University, Houston, USA; travelled to San Diego, Oakland, Seattle and Honolulu, USA 1989 Wayang Imaginative, performance, Mendut Temple, Indonesia Competitive Exhibition of Young Indonesian Artists, Institute of Technology Bandung, Bandung, Indonesia 1988 Wayang Legenda, shadow play, Seni Sono Gallery, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Hedendaagse Indonesische Kunst, Volkenkundig Museum Nusantara, DeIft, The Netherlands 1987 Sandiwa, Kulay-Diwa Art Galleries/Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila, The Philippines Three Indonesian Artists, De Schone Kunsten, Heemstede, The Netherlands 1986 Experimental Music and Visual Art, Seni Sono Gallery, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 1985 3rd ASEAN Youth Artists Exhibition, Indonesia Institute of the Arts, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 1982 Art on the Environment, Parangtritis Beach, Yogyakarta, Indonesia BIENNIALS/TRIENNIALS: 2007 Neo-Nation, 9th Biennial Jogja, Jogja National Museum, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 2006 Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, South Korea

2005 Belonging, Sharjah International Biennial, Sharjah, UAE Urban/Culture, CP Biennale, Museum of Bank Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia Biennale Internazionale dellArte Contemporanea, Fortezza da Basso, Florence, Italy 2004 Do You Believe in Reality?, 2004 Taipei Biennial, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan Free Territory, 26th So Paulo Biennial, So Paulo, Brazil 2003 Zone of Urgency, Venice Biennale, Italy 2nd Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial, Niigata, Japan Country-bution, Yogyakarta Biennale, Taman Budaya, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Interpellation, CP Open Biennale, Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia 2002 4th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia 2001 Yokohama Triennale, Yokohama, Japan 2000 Havana Biennial, Cuba Pavilion, Havana, Cuba Shanghai Biennale, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China 1996 Jurassic Technologies Revenant, 10th Biennial of Sydney, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia Universalis, 23rd So Paulo Biennial, So Paulo, Brazil 1995 Beyond the Borders, 1st Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, South Korea 1994 Yogyakarta Biennale, Purna Budaya, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 1993 1st Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia 9th Jakarta Art Biennial, Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta, Indonesia 1986 5th Biennial of Indonesian Young Artists, Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta, Indonesia 1984 4th Biennial of Indonesian Young Artists, Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta, Indonesia HONOURS AND AWARDS: 2011 Visual Art Award 2011, for Dedication, Contribution and

Achievement in Visual Art Fields from 2000 to 2010 Indonesia Art Motoring Award, Indonesia Classic Car Owners Club, Jakarta, Indonesia 2009 AMICA Art Award, Male Favorite Artist, Jakarta, Indonesia 2006 Academic Art Award, Professional Artist, Program A-2, FSR ISI, Yogyakarta & Jogja Gallery, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 2003 2nd Annual Enku Grand Award, Gifu Prefectural Government, Japan Yogyakarta Art Prize, Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 2000 UNESCO Prize for the International Art Biennial, Shanghai, China 1998 Prince Claus Award, in Recognition of Exceptional Initiatives and Activities in the Field of Art and Development, Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development, The Netherlands 1992 I. Gusti Nyoman Lempad Prize, Sanggar Dewata Indonesia, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 1989 Young Indonesian Artists, Alliance Franaise and Bandung Institute of Technology, Bandung, Indonesia 1981/1985 The Best Painting Awards, Indonesia Institute of the Arts, Yogyakarta, Indonesia PUBLIC COLLECTIONS: OHD Museum of Modern & Contemporary Indonesian Art, Magelang, Indonesia Deutsche Guggenheim (Deutsche Bank), Frankfurt, Germany Artoteek Den Haag, The Hague, The Netherlands Edwins Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia Cemeti Contemporary Art Gallery, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Fukuoka Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan Indonesia Institute of the Arts, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Kirishima Open-Air Museum, Kagoshima, Japan Museum der Kulturen, Basel, Switzerland Australian Print Workshop, Melbourne, Australia Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia CP Foundation, Jakarta, Indonesia National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum, Okinawa, Japan Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia

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Singapore Art Museum, Singapore Stedelijk Museum de Lakenhal, Leiden, The Netherlands The Intercommunication Center, Tokyo, Japan Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY: 2008 Aguslia Hidayah,Bidadari dalam Kepompong, Koran Tempo, 18 August Bambang Bujono, Dongeng Masa Kini Heri Dono, Tempo, 17 August Aminudin TH Siregar, Belajarlah ke Negeri Heri Dono, Kompas, 10 August Pamela Zeplin, The Artist-in-Residence: A New Paradigm for Teaching and Learning in University Art Education, Journal of the World Universities Forum, Vol. 1, Common Ground Publishing 2007 Judith Collins, Sculpture Today, Phaidon Press Pamela Zeplin, Collaboration on the Wing, Broadsheet: Contemporary Visual Arts+Culture, Vol. 36, No. 3, September 2003 Prince Claus Fund Journal # 10a, Prince Claus Fund, The Hague, December 2002 Efix Mulyadi, Renungan Merdeka Heri Dono, Kompas, 16 August Arif, Saya Lebih Suka Kaya Waktu, Koran Tempo, 7 July Julie Ewington, The Multiple Matters of Modern Life, in Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art 2001 Martinus Dwi Marianto, Surealisme Yogyakarta, Rumah Penerbitan Merapi, Yogyakarta Salah Hassan and Iftikhar Dadi (eds.), Unpacking Europe: Towards a Critical Reading, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and NAi Publishers, Rotterdam Jim Supangkat, Breaking Through Twisted Logic: Heri Donos Critical Eye, ArtAsiaPacific, Issue 32 Sindhunata, Rire dhomme entre deux Toiles, Courrier International, 410 January 2000 Efix Mulyadi and Bre Redana, Lebih Jauh dengan Heri Dono, Kompas, 8 October Sindhunata, Hidup untuk Tertawa, Basis, SeptemberOctober Hans-Ulrich Obrist, Heri Dono: The Ever-increasing Colonialization of Time, Flash Art, Vol. XXXlll, No. 213 Outlet, Cemeti Art Foundation, Yogyakarta 1999 Margaret Walsh, Michelle Watts and Craig Malyon (eds.), A.R.T.: Art, Research, Theory, Oxford University Press, Victoria Hendro Wiyanto,Keedanan dan Kelucuan Heri Dono, Kompas, 25 June

1997 Carol Lutfy, Low-Tech Magician, ARTNews, October Heri Dono, Wayang Legenda: Si Tungkot Tunggal Panaluan, Wayang Gepuk Wayang Alternatif, Bentara Budaya, Jakarta 1996 David Elliott and Gilane Tawadros, Blooming in Oxford, Blooming in Arms (ex. cat.), Iniva, London Julie Ewington, Between the Cracks: Art and Method in Southeast Asia, ArtAsiaPacific, Vol.3, No. 4 Orientation, Gate Foundation, Amsterdam, and Cemeti Art Foundation, Yogyakarta Apinan Poshyananda,Roaring Tigers, Desperate Dragons in Transition, in Contemporary Art in Asia: Traditions, Tensions 1995 Toshio Shimizu, Visions of Happiness: Ten Asian Contemporary Artists, Japan Foundation, Tokyo 1994 Masahiro Ushiroshoji, 4th Asian Art Show Fukuoka: Realism as an Attitude (ex. cat.), Fukuoka Art Museum, Fukuoka Astri Wright, Soul, Spirit, and Mountain: Preoccupations of Contemporary Indonesian Painters, Oxford University Press, New York 199394 Jim Supangkat, The Framing of Indonesian Contemporary Art, Artlink, Vol. 13, NovemberMarch 1993 Jenny McFarlene, Heri Donos The Chair, Muse, November Jim Supangkat, Wajah Seni Rupa Asia Pasifik, Tempo, 16 October Jim Supangkat, Seni Rupa Bawah, Tempo, 16 October Helen Musa, Veiled Political Performance, The Canberra Times, Canberra, 15 October Linda Geh, The Last of the Asian Shamans, Sunday Star, 10 October Martinus Dwi Marianto, The Experimental Artist Heri Dono from Yogyakarta and His Visual Art Religion, Art Monthly Australia, October Ann Virgo, Heri Dono: The Chair, in Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Canberra, October Alternative Approaches for Artistic Expression, Brisbane Review Asia-Pacific Liftout, 16 September Jim Supangkat, Indonesia Report: A Different Modern Art, ArtAsiaPacific, September Jim Supangkat, Seni Rupa Kontemporer, Sebuah Resiko, Horison, July Rupa Wayang dalam Seni Rupa Kontemporer Indonesia, Pameran dan Sarasehan Seni Rupa Kontemporer Wayang Jim Supangkat, The First Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (ex. cat.), Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane Jim Supangkat, A Brief History of Indonesian Modern Art, in Tradition and Change, Contemporary Art of Asia and the Pacific, University of Queensland Press

Jim Supangkat, Seni Rupa 80, Pengantar untuk Biennale Jakarta IX Astri Wright, Drinking from the Cup of Tradition: Modern Art in Yogyakarta, in Indonesian Painting Since 1945 (ex. cat.), Gate Foundation, Amsterdam 1992 Goenawan Moehamad, Kritik Sosial dan Kemelimpah-ruahan, Tempo, No. 32, Tahun XXII, 10 October Ugeng T. Daniswara, Kartunal, Lukisan-Lukisan Heri Dono, Laras 46, October Fadjri B., Gebu Yogya 1992: Terobosan Kuda Binal, Tempo, 8 August Sanento Yuliman, Keluar Dan Status Quo, Tempo, 9 May Masahiro Ushiroshoji, The Labyrinthine Search for Self-Identity: The Art of Southeast Asia from the 80s to the 90s, in New Art from Southeast Asia 1992 (ex. cat.) 1991 Renata Duerst, Menschenzertreter, Basler Zeitung, 24 October Astri Wright,Indonesia in the 1980s, Art Monthly Australia, No. 14, June Helena Spanjaard, Sama-Sama, in Maandbeeld, Centrum Beeldende Kunst Groningen, No. 5, May Yuko Sakonakan, New Art from Southeast Asia 1992 (ex. cat.), Japan Foundation, Tokyo, February Urs Ramseyer, Heri Dono: Unknown Dimensions, Die Museen in Basel, No. 344 Thomas Waldmann, Eine Figurenwelt mit indonesischen Wurzeln, Basler Zeitung, 17 January 1988 Astri Wright, Dono Tries to Expand the Use of Wayang Puppets, The Jakarta Post, 6 October Astri Wright, Artist Espouses Laughter and Humour, The Jakarta Post, 16 June

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First published as part of the exhibition:

Heri Dono Madman Butterfly

14 October24 November 2011

previous pages: Flying to the Angels Freedom (detail) 2011 acrylic on canvas 150 x 200 cm (59 x 79 in) following pages: Three Presidential Candidates (detail) 2009 acrylic on canvas 150 x 200 cm (59 x 79 in)

Coordination: Martin Clist Editor: Eti Bonn-Muller Assistance: Mauro Ribero, Xiaohan Li and Katherine Tong Design: Ruth Hflich Rossi & Rossi Ltd. 2011 Text copyright the author. Images courtesy of the artist and Rossi & Rossi, London. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any storage or retrieval system, without prior permission from the copyright holders and publishers. ISBN 978 1 906576 27 1 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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Clifford Rossi 16+44 20 7734street London W1s 3RG 6487 Rossi tf +44 20 7734 8051 info@rossirossi.com www.rossirossi.com www.facebook.com/rossiandrossi