A sarong for my barong

At Friday night’s opening of our show “Kita: The Philippines-Indonesia Art Exchange” in the lobby of Montebello Hotel, I made a fashion statement by wearing my barong with a sarong, a batik skirt commonly worn by both males and females in Indonesia, Malaysia, and even here in Southern Mindanao (where it is called a malong).

It is my own way of symbolizing the coming together of the two cultures, that of Indonesia and the Philippines, an occasion brought about by the art exchange that was first planned when my fellow Cebuano artist Celso Pepito and I met some of the Indonesian artists in Malaysia last year.

The idea of putting together works by artists from Indonesia and the Philippines finally culminated in the exhibit in Montebello, which will stay there  for public viewing until June 13. From Cebu, the works will be shipped to the Exhibition Center for Contemporary Art in Manila for a show there from June 16 to 21. Then some of the artists representing the Philippines will join the Indonesians for a trip to Ubud, Bali, where their works will be exhibited in the local gallery called Gaya Fusion Art Space from June 30 to July 7.

The artists from Indonesia who recently arrived here in Cebu are Antonius Kho, Holy Inne, Ade Artie Tjakra, Syahrizal Zain Koto, I Wayan Linggih, and I Made Somadita. They brought with them their own curator Richard Horstman, an Australian who has been living in Bali for many years now. He wrote the essay in their own version of the Kita exhibit catalog.

Antonius is a German-educated painter from Bali who is known for his mix of cubism with rich and elaborate background textures and patterns reminiscent of the intricate designs of Balinese batik and wood carving. His young wife Holy Inne is a ceramics artist who pursues the constant integration of art and craft, beauty and utility.

Although known for her sculptures, Jakarta-based artist Ade actually makes gestural paintings in watercolor and acrylics. She was a student of Teguh Ostenrik, a famous artist in Indonesia who I met in China.

Another senior artist in the Indonesian group is Syahrizal, a multi-awarded sculptor and painter from Yogyakarta. For the Kita exhibit, he brought some of his small bronze sculptures, which are abstractions of the human form and mythical creatures.

A young artist from Bali, Wayan has a powerful way of distorting faces through color and spontaneous brushwork to suggest violence and angst in his “Discrimination” series, some of which are on display in the Kita exhibit. The strong political statement belies the seemingly soft-spoken character of the artist who sports long dreadlocks.

Another young artist is Made, who paints semi-abstract mirages of animals sacred to Hinduism. But when I asked him about his religion, he only said one word: “all”.

With me in the Philippine group is Celso Pepito, who is known for his own appropriation of cubism in his tributary representation of Philippine traditional values: the enduring nostalgia for simple family and community life now that it is undermined by the dog-eats-dog culture of urbanism.

Another Cebuano artist in the group is Darby Alcoseba, a young painter who can easily shift between painting realist landscapes and total abstraction. Manila-based Adler Llagas, also a realist landscape painter, and abstractionist Epifanio Atencia  joins us in the Philippine group.

So far, there has been exciting interaction between the two groups, with the Cebuano artists playing hosts to the foreign guests who don’t look at all like they were foreigners (except of course for Richard who is an Australian).

Tomorrow, Monday, at 9 a.m.  the Indonesian artists will give a presentation and talk about the contemporary art scene in their country at the University of San Carlos College of Architecture and Fine Arts Theater. A workshop in printmaking using the school’s two etching presses follows in the afternoon. The collaborative work is intended to enable both groups of artists to learn from each other’s way of making art.

Both activities are for free and open to the public. So local artists, art students, and anyone who might be interested in Indonesian art are encouraged to join us tomorrow. It’s a  rare  chance to make friends and make art with our Indonesian guests.

But if you plan to join the workshop, bring your own paper and watercolor set. Printmaking is messy so we advise that you wear black or bring an apron. And no, you don’t have to come in a barong and sarong. Sorry, but the idea was taken already.