Louis Vuitton supports art and often having some phenomenal artists from all kind of walk of life. This time, with their latest latest exhibition - “FANTASY ISLANDS” at Espace Louis Vuitton Hong Kong with a fantastic display of work by some talented Indonesian artists. It has been a big year for Indonesian contemporary art. Earlier this year the Espace Louis Vuitton in Paris presented a compelling exhibition of work by eleven Indonesian artists under the heading of “Trans-Figurations: Indonesian Mythologies” and now here in Hong Kong, “Fantasy Islands” builds on these presentations with an exhibition at the Espace LouisVuitton Hong Kong curated by Jonathan Thomson. Artists includes Bayu Widodo Eko Nugroho, Erwin Windu Pranata Garin Nugroho, Haris Purnomo Hendra (HeHe) Harsono, Heri Dono Tromarama, Uji Handoko Eko Saputro (Hahan).
Indonesia has for centuries spurred European imaginations with stories that seemed almost too fantastic to be true with stories of fabulous wealth, exotic spices worth more than gold, impenetrable jungles, fantastic creatures and earth shattering cataclysms. Myths and fables are human inventions that we use to fill the gaps in our knowledge and experience. But sometimes things that might have once been believed to be fantastic inventions turn out to be true. For many artists, the real and the fantastic mirror one another. Fantasies are inextricably linked to the societies that produce them, even if the iconography actually used is influenced by other cultures.
The power of fantasy is its ability to be rooted in one society while simultaneously being able to transcend it and relate to others. Indonesia is steeped in mythologies and has a rich tradition of story-telling and folk tales that explore themes of interpersonal relationships and ethical dilemmas within real-world and fantasy settings. Fantasy is a distinctive and influential strand of contemporary Indonesian art even as different artists adopt and adapt it for different purposes.
Exhibition ends 31st January, 2012 which will then travel next to the Espace Louis Vuitton in Singapore early in 2012.
