When I first arrived at the Jogja house, the boys were busy preparing for an art and music exhibition named, Open Space - Open Mind, to be held at the house. Promoting the work of local artist Imam B Rastanagara and other artists like Beong and Bedes. Imam's works are bright and colorful creations with bold strokes, almost a celebration intermingled with darker themes of homelessness, poverty and marginalization. Imam's artworks deal with life on the streets, prostitution, drugs, mental issues and jail.
On one canvas he writes a story about a prostitute caught by police and demanded to pay a bribe. She laments her position in life and how if she had the money she would simply buy some penicillin...instead of having to pay the bribe.
Another of his artworks talks about mental illness and the Asian tendency to ignore slightly malfunctioning members of the family. Mental illness is misunderstood to the uneducated, here to the point where they tie or lock them in a corner of the house. Discarding family. Discarding love.
The artwork was excellent. Soul work. Soul expression. Traditional musicians, violin, and tabla brought Imam's works to life , literally making music from art. Taking the text, poems and dialogues from the corners of the artwork as a basis for an experimental set..it was excellent!
Click to view larger..
There was an eclectic mix of experimental art bands, dj's, rock bands and reggae bands. A great vibe and mixture of dread heads, punks, and activists..a good mix of enthusiastic, motivated youth from Jogja. The event was described as having a 'Temporary Autonomous Zone' style...hehe, whatever that means..but it was great..and all in my own backyard!
And me, well I sampled the local art, local sugar wine :) and danced my night away!Check out Omah Gelap (the dark house)
R1 Nitiprayan Rd
Jogjakarta
