Camouflage: Acts of War

The “Camouflage: Acts of War” by Hamad Khalaf will go at Friday, August 31-2007, on 7 p.m. This exhibition is curated by Rifky Effendy and will be officiated by Mr Deddy Irianto, the owner of Langgeng Icon Gallery. The exhibition will last at September 9-2007. Art lovers are welcome with no admission.

Khalaf is a Kuwait born artist and now he is working in Bali. "ACTS OF WAR" is a project which started in 2003, when Hamad Khalaf set up his studio in Bali, Indonesia. In view of the many restrictions his work would face in Kuwait, he chose to further his career in Indonesia as an alternative home base for an international career. The project comprises art work in a broad range of mediums, all revolving around one central idea: Classical Greek Mythology abounds in characters and situations of War, which our reality would seem to imitate.

Excerpts from some sources:

"Bagi banyak seniman, mitos Yunani kemudian dijadikan titik keberangkatan untuk membincangkan tragedi manusia. Melalui benda dan citraan yang penuh erotika lagi puitik, Hamad Khalaf, seorang perupa, mengajak kita merenungi tentang perang lewat mitologi." KOMPAS, Rifky Effendy

"He could not resist collecting, from deserted military battlefields, the military helmets, uniforms, gloves, gas masks, flasks, and other remainders of the war that raged in Kuwait. Khalaf blows new life into these Iraqi military items with artistic gusto." ASIAN ART NEWS, Carla Bianpoen

"The combination of objects from war and epic greek imagery reveals the red thread of human drama. Whether the objects are truly from war or not is of no importance, because we consume war images no differently to other images. We are enticed by the imagery and enjoy reproducing it. While real war takes civilian casualties, its imagery camouflages it to some of the others." MEDIA INDONESIA, Heru Hikayat

"The more I saw, the closer I looked at the objects and the scenes painted on them, and the more was realed about the fascinating way the whole world of objects came together in harmony, and evoking, destruction, war and mythology. I was looking at a highly sophisticated and personal message against war and violence." JAKARTA POST, Jean Couteau

"In its essence, trauma can never be healed. It can only be managed, transformed into positive energy. This is what Hamad does." GALERI SOEMARDJA, Aminuddin TH Siregar

HAMAD KHALAF Born 1971
Solo Exhibitions
2007

“Camouflage: Acts of War”, Rumah Seni Yaitu, Semarang, Cent Java, Indonesia
“Acts of War”, 24hr Art (N.T. Centre for Contemporary Art), Darwin, Australia.
“Acts of War”, Galeri Cemara 6, Jakarta, Indonesia.
“Acts of War”, Galeri Soemardja -ITB, Bandung, Indonesia.
“Acts of War”, Gaya Fusion Artspace , Bali, Indonesia.
2006

“Acts of War”, Curated by Enin Supriyanto, Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia.
2005

“Acts of War”, Curated by Filippo Sciascia, Gayafusion, Bali, Indonesia.
2001

“The Fires of Kuwait”, The Green Room, Ritz Carlton Hotel, Singapore.
1999

“Enemy Revisited”, Salle des Pas Perdus, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France.
1998

“Les Argonauts”, Hall Moro III, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France.
1997

“Enemy Revisited”, Musee de Louvain La Neuve, LLN, Belgium.
“Enemy Revisited”, Galerie Catrin Alting, Antwerp, Belgium.
1996

“Mitologia Crudele”, Loggia Rucellai – Galerie Alberto Bruschi, Florence, Italy.
1995

“Enemy Revisited”, Le Centre Culturel Francais, Kuwait.

Group Exhibitions
2006

“Theertha Open Day”, Organized by Theertha IAC. Hantane, Sri Lanka.
“Gaya Collection”, Gayafusion. Bali, Indonesia.
2005

“3 Regards sur la guerre”, Abbaye de Stavelot, Stavelot, Belgium.
“Pre-Bali Biennale”, Sika Gallery, Bali, Indonesia.
“Bali Biennale-Summit Event”, Komaneka Gallery, Bali, Indonesia.
2004

“Artiade - Olympics of Visual Arts”, Athens, Greece.
1996

“Artiade - Olympics of Visual Arts”, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Projects Assignments / Workshops
2006

Theertha International Artists Workshop, Hantane, Sri Lanka.
2005

Created 40 art masks for sale at charity masquerade “Friends of Indonesia”, Fabio’s, Bali, Indonesia.
2004

Member of the International Jury, Artiade Olympics of Visual Arts, Athens, Greece.
1998

Desk Calendar, Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC), Kuwait.
1997

Cards and “Minotaur” Watch sold at UNESCO HQ, Paris, France.

Collections
Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Gayafusion, Bali, Indonesia.
Musee de Louvain La Neuve, LLN, Belgium.
Maison de L’UNESCO, Paris, France.
Associasion Internationale des Arts Plastiques (AIAP), Paris, France.
Artiade Foundation (NGO), Berlin, Germany.
Professor Nicholas Saunders, Author of Trench Art books.
Miuccia Prada, Fashion designer and co-founder of the Prada Foundation, Milan, italy.

Studies & Day Jobs
2001-2003

Senior Representative, Kuwait Petroleum Far East, Singapore.
1994-2001

Oil Trader/Retail Analyst, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, Kuwait/Rotterdam.
1992-1994

Assistant Admin. Director, SOFREMI (Demining & Ordinance Disposal company operating in Kuwait)
1989-1992

BBA in Marketing and International Business, Schiller International University, Paris, France.

What is WWW.MACHO?

Design: Rizky Lazuardi

This is about a book discussing the arts of Nindityo Adipurnomo. This Semarang – Central Java – born artist is known as the founder, with his wife Mella Jaarsma, of Cemeti Art House (CAH), Yogyakarta.

The Indonesian art scene note this art space as a leading in showing contemporary art today. It was Cemeti Gallery, changed again to Cemeti Modern Art Gallery, and then became as Cemeti Contemporary Art Gallery. Since 1999 the legendary art space is widely known as CAH. The logo is ‘dot inside a circle’ in purple color.

For their tireless efforts running the art space and introducing Indonesian contemporary art to worldwide, then, they’re honored John D Rockefeller Awards, 2005. This couple are also welknown as excellent artists.

Four female writers – they are Alia Swastika, Farah Wardani, Iola Lenzi, and Amanda K. Rath – contribute their reading on Adipurnomo’s works, especially in his ‘konde’ series. Konde is a traditional Javanese hairpiecing. And the book titled “WWW.MACHO” is named as one of the artist’s exhibitions.

Alia Swastika, now the Artistic Manager of Cemeti Art House, is a writer and begin developing an interest in cross diciplinary curatorial practices with main foci an issues around women, young people and identity. The Executive Director of Indonesian Visual Art Archive (IVAA) Yogyakarta, Farah Wardani, is the other contributor to the book. Wardani is also known as an editor of Visual Arts magazine. Her resume comprises working in the fields of visual communication, design, education, media, art journalism, criticism, curating and management. Iola Lenzi, a Canadian-educated lawyer, is a Singapore-based critic, arts writer and curator. She is the Singapore correspondent for the Asian Art Newspaper, London as well as a contributor to Asian Art News, Hong Kong and Eyeline, Queensland, Australia. And Amanda K. Rath currently completing her desertation on “alternative art” practices, and the discourse of aesthetic and art criticism in Indonesia (1975-2000). She is a writer majoring in modern and contemporary art, art criticism and visual culture from Indonesia and Malaysia for the last ten years.

The book then launched and discussed on Saturday, August 11th 2007, at Gramedia Book Store Semarang, Central Java. Rumah Seni Yaitu organised it. Donny Danardono from Soegijapranata Catholic University and Triyono Lukmantoro from Diponegoro University give their opinions based on the topics of the book. The artist Nindityo Adipurnomo also attended the session.

The “WWW.MACHO” is now available at Rumah Seni Yaitu.***

Amazing Trunks!

"Gone with the Wind" by Hardiman Radjab

Solo Exhibition "Trunks Full of Stories" by Hardiman Radjab at August 10 to 25, 2007. Curated by Hendro Wiyanto. Opening ceremony at Friday, August 10, at 7 pm. The exhibition will officially opened by Dr Iswidayati, head of Fine Art Department of Faculty of Language and Arts, Semarang State University, Semarang.***

[Excerpt from Curatorial Note]

HARDIMAN Radjab is an artist whom very closed to theater’s life – he is a stage designer for a sum of contemporary plays – and he is also an artist with craft experiences.

In the last decade, the object discourses in our contemporary art-scene come through. This, for instance, as a widening ideas of objecthoods for painters or a playfully games on scale for sculptors. In short, objecthoods in our art-scene celebrate their own sake.

By these situations, Hardiman’s art-works of which use the trunks’ shape and space, enliving them (there is one that could breath), giving its contents and the pluralities of their receptions are interesting because of his seriousness to the ‘medium’ of trunks. To these objecthoods he obviously gives ‘theater’ contexts or substitute the stage into the trunks.

Hardiman is truly convinced to use this object, and feels that these objecthoods widely enough to cover his knowledge, ideas or stories through the simply shape of trunks. The long journey smell, curiousity atmoshphere, staled, changes places, lonelyness and emptiness are appeared from his old trunks.

Hendro Wiyanto
Exhibition Curator

Note:
Translated from Indonesian text by Tubagus P. Svarajati