Worship to Power
Worship To Power
solo exhibition by Heri Dono
Kohesive Initiative
July 2nd – October 15th 2023
.en.
The narrative of Heri Dono’s solo exhibition was built around the two particular works created during the critical years of democracy in the Indonesian New Order regime: “Worship to Power” (10th Biennale of Sydney, 1996) and “Blooming in Arms” (Museum of Modern Art Oxford, 1996). The original work never made it back to Indonesia, thus, the artist reconstructed these works using his old study, archival materials, and the catalogs—thanks to his meticulous archiving impulse. This will be the first time these noteworthy works of art are presented in Indonesia as a record of an era– a time where social commentary and political art are face to face with its worst enemy: an authoritarian government and its violent censorship.
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.id.
Narasi dalam pameran tunggal Heri Dono ini dibangun berdasarkan dua karya yang dibuat pada masa-masa kritis demokrasi saat rezim Orde Baru, yaitu Worship to Power (10th Biennale of Sydney, 1996) dan Blooming in Arms (Museum of Modern Art Oxford, 1996). Kedua karya ini tak pernah pulang ke Indonesia, oleh karena itu, sang seniman merekonstruksi karya-karya ini dengan memanfaatkan studi, materi arsip, dan katalog lamanya—berkat dorongan pengarsipan yang cermat. Ini adalah kali pertama karya-karya seni penting ini dipamerkan di Indonesia sebagai catatan dari sebuah era, di masa ketika komentar sosial dan seni politik berhadap-hadapan dengan musuh terbesarnya: pemerintah otoriter dan kebijakan sensor yang brutal.