Space of Exception, Maryanto’s first solo presentation in Singapore, will consist of charcoal drawings and sculptural installation. Referencing Italian Philosopher, Giorgio Agamben’s ‘state of exception’, ‘space of exception’ involves taking a position outside the existing natural state, a space beyond or outside the normal order, where normal law does not hold.
Maryanto has taken inspiration from this concept, referring to it as a meditation on space. From the starting point of ‘perceived reality’, Maryanto’s installations of drawings and sculptures set out to create an environment set apart from such perceived realities that allows for experimentation, research and open discussion to occur. Within the installation, visitors will be invited to record their ideal utopic situations within a created environment made by the artist for reflection.
The techniques employed in Maryanto’s black and white paintings are derived from his training in printmaking, where the focus is on negative space. In his drawings as well, he employs techniques more traditionally used for painting by utilizing the perspective of light. The artist further plays with dimension through the use of the hyper-realistic style, manipulating the dimensions in his drawings and paintings to render them flat or optically dimensioned, depending on the viewer’s body and distance from the work.
