Para/Site Art Space is honoured to present Recorded Waves: Moving Images from Indonesia.

The use of video for artistic purposes in Indonesia dates back to the late 1980s, when pioneers Krisna Murti, Teguh Ostentrik and Heri Dono, began to experiment with video in order to expand the scope of theirartistic creations. However, the influence of video in contemporary art in Indonesia is not the result of innovations within the artistic field; rather itis a critical positioning towards the entertainment industry and, above all, a
critique of television.

During Suharto's dictatorship from 1967 to 1998, the government television channel Televisi Republik Indonesia was manipulated and controlled for propaganda purposes. However, with the growing market in Indonesia in the late 80s and early 90s, the entertainment industry grew and new television channels appeared. Video rental stores and video readers for private use also began to proliferate. Thus, home cinema emerged as an alternative to the unilateral view presented by the government.

In the late 1990s, and particularly during the fall of Suharto in 1998, video played an important role as an instrument of denunciation against unacceptable social and political events. These videos showed messages that went beyond what was presented and accepted by the government, and documented the reality that the government was hiding from its people. In Indonesia, both in politics and in art, video has been used as a means of documentation and as a means of creating images that respond to specific social and political contexts.

Since 2003, the artists’ initiative ruangrupa has been organising the ‘OK. Video – Jakarta International Video Festival’, which takes place biannually in the capital. One of the aims of the festival is to raise awareness of video in a creative sense and to introduce the medium to mainstreamaudiences. The festival is thematic and, since its first edition, has been internationally conceived. It also gives particular emphasis to the content rather than technical experimentations of the medium – echoing the origins of Indonesian video art. The social and political context of the work is important for the selection of videos featured in the festival.

The exhibition Recorded Waves: Moving Images from Indonesia includes highlights of this festival, as well as ground-breaking positions of video art from Indonesia with works by pioneer video artist Krisna Murti, as well as emerging and established artists Tiong Ang, Muhammad Akbar, Henry Foundation, Nala Atmowiloto, Wimo Ambala Bayang, Ari Satria Darma, Eko Nugroho, Anggun Priambodo, Prilla Tania, Wok The Rock and Tintin Wulia.

Curator’s research supported by Goethe Institute

Opening reception: (Friday) 19 November, 2010; 7pm