ARAHMAIANISHADOW OF THE PASTSHADOW OF THE PASTARAHMAIANIFOREWORDTYLER ROLLINSOne of Indonesia’s most seminal and respected contemporary artists, Arahmaiani has long beeninternationally recognized for her powerful and provocative commentaries on social, political, and culturalissues. Born in 1961 in Bandung, Indonesia, she established herself in the 1980s as a pioneer in the fieldof performance art in Southeast Asia, although her practice also incorporates a wide variety of media. For
the past six years, a particular focus of her work has been environmental issues in the Tibetan plateau
region, where she has been actively collaborating on-site with Buddhist monks and villagers to foster
greater environmental consciousness through an array of ongoing community projects. Shadow of the Past
(Sept. 15 – Oct. 29, 2016) marks the first solo exhibition devoted to her artworks inspired by her ongoingexperiences in Tibet, and features new installation and video works alongside a series of paintings.
The exhibition explores themes of spirituality (particularly informed by Tibetan Buddhism), culturalsyncretism, humanity’s interconnectedness with nature, and the place of the feminine in religious traditions
and in spiritual life in general. Arahmaiani is fascinated by the buried past of her native Java, its rich HinduBuddhist cultural heritage – which is now often under-recognized – and the monumental temples thatwere overgrown for centuries until their rediscovery in more recent times. Indonesia once had vital centersof Buddhist learning that were sought out by students from across Asia, including Atisha (982–1054), whobecame one of Tibet’s most revered lamas. Tibet has become an important part of Arahmaini’s own spiritualjourney, both as a woman and a Javanese Muslim. The exhibition begins with an installation, Descending
Rainbow, that was inspired by her meditation practice and her focus on ecology and the feminine. It featuresa richer, more colorful version of a Tibetan woman’s robe, a veiled meditation mattress, and a mandalamade from living plants. The installation is also the setting for a new performance work of the same title,
which had its debut during the exhibition opening.
At the opposite end of the gallery, a dimly lit installation contains a bench where visitors can meditate whileobserving Arahmaiani’s video, Light, in which the artist and friends of different nationalities and ethnicities
take turns holding a lit candle and speaking a single word that is of spiritual significance to them. Arrangedon the candlelit floor beneath the video is a group of gray pillows (entitled Dukkha, referencing the Buddhist
concept of suffering) that have been embroidered with certain keywords relating to emotional states suchas compassion, hate, greed, etc. In between the two installations is a series of diptychs, such as Illuminationand Sonam, all in monochromatic gray, a color the artist associates with the quiet peace of a meditative
state. These paintings incorporate women’s faces, some crowned with inscriptions in Arabic and Tibetan,
alongside flowers and other natural imagery. A second video, Shadow of the Past (Lasem, Java), is based ona performance of Arahmaiani’s that took place in early 2016, in which she covers herself with mud, evoking
the long buried Buddha statues of ancient Javanese temples, and walks through the empty buildings ofan abandoned Javanese town once inhabited by ethnic Chinese Indonesians. She processes through thestreets, stopping to meditate in various key locations, including an empty Buddhist temple, the remnant of
the spiritual life of the former inhabitants.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT
ARAHMAIANIMy latest works in the form of paintings, videos, installations, and performance, are influenced by myresearch into the past cultures of Animism, Hinduism, and Buddhism in Indonesia, which left behind many
temples – even the largest Buddhist temple in the world, Borobudur, which was buried for 800 years andwas rediscovered around 200 years ago. Also there are very ancient books of Buddhist teaching, such as
Sanghyang Kamahayanikan, which was discovered in the kingdom of Lombok when it was defeated by the
Dutch military in the year 1900. Furthermore, there is the relationship in ancient times between Tibetan
Buddhism and local Buddhism in what is now Indonesia (which in the past was of the Mahayana/Tantrayanasect). A monk known by the name Lama Atisha, who became a reformer of the Buddhist religion in Tibet
and who founded Kadampa school, once studied for twelve years in the Buddhist university in Sriwijaya (theancient kingdom in Indonesia), where he received the guidance of a local master by the name of Dharmakirti,
who in Tibet is known as Lama Serlingpa.
Besides this, my activity with the monks and the laypeople in Lab village, in the Kham region of Tibet, overthe past six years, with the goal of solving environmental problems, is also of course another source of fresh
inspiration which has a relation to the past of Java, my place of birth. The Tibetan Plateau – which is also
known as the Third Pole and Asia’s Water Tower because it is the source of seven large rivers on which thelivelihood of more that two billion people depends – is under the threat of draught. Climate change, also
known as global warming, has caused the glaciers and even the permafrost to melt. There have been many
disasters at the upstream areas of the rivers, such as floods and mudslides. Efforts must be undertaken toprevent larger disasters, particularly to answer the issue of the drying up of all the springs there.
Another aspect, which is no less important and is very influential in the formation of my ideas and thoughts,
is my collaboration with academics in Passau University in Germany. This has given input concerning thedevelopment of science with all its challenges, issues and limitations. Also, there is my collaboration withspiritualist leaders from various faiths (Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, and Hinduism), whichof course offers much input as well as understanding of diverse religions, cultures, and “spiritual traditions.”
Thus my new works might be more of a contemplation on the present condition of life, which is full of issues
and challenges. Which is under the threat of ecological destruction. Or which is awash with the suffering of
those who are poor and marginalized in this less than just economic system that tends to be profit oriented.
I try to imagine a brighter future for life and try to change the direction of thinking that causes destruction
and inhuman conditions.
-Yogyakarta, August 2016

VIEW OF THE EXHIBITION AT TYLER ROLLINS FINE ART

VIEW OF THE EXHIBITION AT TYLER ROLLINS FINE ART

VIEW OF THE EXHIBITION AT TYLER ROLLINS FINE ART

VIEW OF THE EXHIBITION AT TYLER ROLLINS FINE ART

DESCENDING RAINBOW
2016
mattress, pillow, bed spread, netting, table, candlestick with candle, book, book bag,photograph, belt, hat, robe, bagdimensions variable

DESCENDING RAINBOW
2016
mattress, pillow, bed spread, netting, table, candlestick with candle, book, book bag,photograph, belt, hat, robe, bagdimensions variable(detail)DESCENDING RAINBOW
2016
photograph
29 ¾ x 35 in. (75.5 x 89 cm)
edition of 5 +1 AP

PILLOWS OF DUKKHA
2016
10 pillows
embroidery on cotton fabriceach 26 x 26 in. (66 x 66 cm)
pictured with “Light” video

FLOWER OF LOVE2016
acrylic on canvas
diptycheach panel: 54 x 54 in (137 x 137 cm)

HANTU BULE
2016
acrylic on canvas
diptycheach panel: 54 x 54 in (137 x 137 cm)

ILLUMINATION
2016
acrylic on canvas
diptycheach panel: 54 x 46 in (137 x 117 cm)

SONAM2012
acrylic on canvas
diptycheach panel: 79 x 71 in. (200 x 180 cm)

LIGHT2015
single channel video
4:22 minedition of 5 + 1AP

SHADOW OF THE PAST (LASEM, JAVA)
2016
single channel video
2:22 minedition of 5 +1AP

ARAHMAIANISELECTED BIOGRAPHY
Born 1961 in Bandung, Indonesia. Lives and works in Yogyakarta,
Indonesia.
EDUCATION
1992
1985
1983

BFA, Bandung Institute of Technology, Bandung, Indonesia.
Paddington Art School, Sydney, Australia.
Academie voor Beeldende Kunst, Enschede, the Netherlands.

2011

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2016
2015
2014
2013
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004

2003
2002
1999
1993
1987

Shadow of the Past, Tyler Rollins Fine Art, New York, NY, USA.
Violence No More, Haus Am Dom, Frankfurt, Germany.
Fertility of the Mind, Tyler Rollins Fine Art, New York, NY, USA.
The Grey Paintings, Equator ArtProjects, Singapore.
I Love You (After Joseph Beuys Social Sculpture), Esplanade,Singapore.
Slow Down Bro, Jogya National Museum, Yogyakarta, 		
Indonesia.
Make-Up or Break-Up, Artspace Sydney, Australia.
Stitching the Wound, Jim Thompson Gallery, Bangkok,
Thailand.
Lecturing on Painting, Valentine Willie Gallery, Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia.
Wedding Party (LAPEN Wedding), Kedai Kebun Forum,
Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Un-titled, PSI Conference #10, Singapore.
Soho Baby, 2nd Dadao Live Art Festival, Beijing, China.
Breaking Words, Nagano Expo, Japan.
Breaking Words, FIX04 Belfast, Ireland.
Fusion & Strength, Gallery Benda, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
MIP (International Performance Manifestation), Belo 		
Horizonte, Brazil.
Visit to My World, Asian Fine Arts Gallery, Berlin, Germany.
Dayang Sumbi: Refuses Status Quo, CCF Bandung, Indonesia.
Rape & Rob, Millennium Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Sex, Religion, and Coca Cola, Oncor Studio, Jakarta, 		
Indonesia.
My Dog is Dead and then He Flew, Centre Culturelle 		Française, Bandung, Indonesia.

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2016

2015
2014
2013

2012

SEA+ Triennale 2016, The National Gallery of Indonesia,
Jakarta, Indonesia.
Die Kunst Ist Schon In Der Kirche. Uber Readymades., St.
Michael, Berlin, Germany.
In & Out of Context, Asia Society Museum, New York, NY, USA.
Concept, Context, Contestation: Art and the Collective inSoutheast Asia, Cemeti Art House, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
When Things Fall Apart – Critical Voices on the Radar,
Trapholt, Kolding, Denmark.
Costume National: Contemporary Art from Indonesia, 		
AXENÉO7, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada and Galerie SAW
Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Manifesto V: Arus, National Gallery of Indonesia, Jakarta,
Indonesia.
Concept Context Contestation Hanoi: Art and the Collective inSoutheast Asia, Goethe-Institut Hanoi, Vietnam.
Chain of Fire, prologue exhibition for Honolulu Biennial 2016,
Honolulu, HI, USA.
Suspended Histories, Museum Van Loon, Amsterdam, theNetherlands.
Women In Between: Asian Women Artists 1984-2012, Mie
Prefectural Museum of Art, Mie, Japan; and Tochigi
Prefectural Museum of Fine Art, Tochigi, Japan.
Lost in China, Gallery 4A, Sydney, Australia.

2010

2009

2008

2007

2005
2004

2003

2002

2001
2000

Marcel Duchamp in Southeast Asia, Equator ArtProjects,
Singapore.
Women In-Between: Asian Women Artists 1984-2012, Fukuoka
Asian Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan.
Edge of Elsewhere 2012, Campbelltown Arts Centre, 		Campbelltown, Australia; and 4A Centre for Contemporary AsianArt, Sydney, Australia.
Edge of Elsewhere, Gallery 4A Sydney Festival, Australia.
Crossing Point, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore.
Thread Stitching Wounds, Yogya Biennale, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
I Love You, Richmond Center for the Arts, Kalamazoo, MI, USA.
Flag Project, Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai, China.
Home, Gallery 4A, Sydney, Australia.
Edge of Elsewhere, Sydney Festival, Sydney, Australia.
Contemporaneity, MOCA Shanghai, China.
Tough Love, Gallery Plataforma Revolver, Lisbon, Portugal.
My Grandmother’s House, Museum Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
I Love You, Ana Tzarev Gallery, New York, NY, USA.
Crossing and Blurring the Boundaries, Andi’s Gallery, Jakarta,
Indonesia.
Summer Now 2010, Canvas International Art, Amsterdam.
UNERWARTET/UNEXPECTED, Von der islamischen Kunst
zur zeitgenössischen Kunstmuseum Bochum - Kunstmuseum
Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
Edge of Elsewhere, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art,
Sydney, Australia.
Installation I, Sydney Festival, Campbelltown Art Centere,
Campbelltown, Australia.
No More Bad Girls, Kunsthalle Exnergasse, Vienna, Austria.
My Body, Andi’s Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Awareness, Canvas International Art, Amsterdam, theNetherlands.
3rd International Calligraphy Biennale, Sharjah, United ArabEmirates.
Die Wahren Orte, Alexander Ochs Gallery, Berlin, Germany.
Strategies Towards the Real, NUS, Singapore.
Global Feminisms, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY, USA.
Art Goes Heilligendamm, Rostock, Germany.
Balance, Bad Doberan, Germany.
Premonition, J&Z Gallery, Shenzhen, China.
INTOENNE Festival, Austria.
Magnetism – Suspension, Zendai Museum of 		
Modern Art, Shanghai, China.
Twilight Tomorrow, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore.
Reformasi, Sculpture Square, Singapore.
Asian Traffic, Gallery 4A, Sydney, Australia.
Art Summit, National Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia.
SENI, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore.
The Rest of The World, Pirmasens, Germany.
11 June 2003, Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy.
Don’t Call it Performance Art, Reina Sophia Museum, Madrid,
Spain; and Andalusia Center for Contemporary Art, Seville, Spain.
Transit, Northern Territory Centre for Contemporary Art,
Australia.
10th Biennale of Moving Image, Geneva, Switzerland.
AWAS! Recent Art from Indonesia, Asian Fine Arts Gallery,
Berlin, Germany.
Text & Subtext, Sternersen Musset, Oslo, Norway.
Sao Paulo Biennial, Brazil.
Gwangju Biennale, South Korea.
Site + Sight, Lasalle College of the Arts, Singapore.
Upstream Project, Amsterdam & Hoorn, the Netherlands.
His-story on My Body, Hillside Terrace Gallery, Tokyo, Japan.
His-story on My Body, Text & Sub-text, Earl Lu Gallery,
Singapore; and Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Sydney, Australia.
Corporeal Apology, Biennale de Lyon, Lyon, France; andWerkleitz Biennale, Germany.

1999

1998

1997

1996
1995

1994

1993
1992
1984
1983
1980

Le Petit du Chaperon Rouge, Le Ferme Du Biusson, Paris,
France.
The Dog’s Dream, ISP Open Studio, Tribeca, New York, NY,USA.
Burning Bodies, Burning Countries II, Cultural Centre 		Philippines (CCP), Manila, the Philippines.
Made In Indonesia No. I, - Un Ab Die Post, Postfuhramt Berlin,
Germany.
Newspaper Man II, Semanggi Café, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Cities On the Move, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 		
Humlebæk, Denmark; and Hayward Gallery, London, United
Kingdom.
Instalasi Gawat Darurat Pembangunan, 4+4 Begegnung,Purna Budaya, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Traditions/Tensions, Western Australia Museum of 		Contemporary Art, Perth, Australia.
Plastic & Other Waste (First Asia-Pacific Artist Solidarity
Project), Center for the Arts, Chulalongkorn University,
Bangkok, Thailand.
Cities on The Move, Museum of Contemporary Art, Vienna
Secession, Austria; Musée de l’Art Contemporaine de 		
Bordeaux, France; and P.S. I Contemporary Art Center, New
York, NY, USA.
Traditions/Tensions, Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei,
Taiwan.
Burning Bodies, Burning Country, Musée de Castieva, Almaty,
Kazakhstan.
Womanifesto: Don’t Prevent the Fertility of Mind, ConcreteHouse, Bangkok, Thailand.
Sacred Coke - Cosmology of Mutilation, VI Biennale de la
Habana, Havana, Cuba.
Contemporary Art in Asia: Traditions/Tensions, Vancouver
Gallery, Vancouver, Canada.
White Cases, Glimpses into the Future, Art from Southeast
Asia, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; andHiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Hiroshima,
Japan.
Offerings from A to Z, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Nation for Sale, Asia-Pacific Triennial, Brisbane, Australia.
Traditions/Tensions, Asia Society, New York, NY, USA.
A Piece of Land for Sale, Artists Regional Exchange (ARX),
Perth, Australia.
Sacred Coke, Contemporary Art from Non-aligned Countries,
National Gallery, Jakarta,Indonesia.
Coke Circle, Claremont Art School, Perth, Australia.
5+5 Indonesian & Dutch Artists, Purna Budaya, Yogyakarta,
Indonesia; and Erasmus Huis, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Indonesia in Emergency Aid, Yogyakarta Biennial, Purna
Budaya, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Four Faces, Biennal IX, Jakarta, Indonesia.
From Pieces to Become One-Homage to Joseph Beuys,
Enschede, the Netherlands.
Fibre Art and Design, Sydney Textile Museum, Sydney, 		Australia.
Independent Feast, Bandung, Indonesia.
Accident I, Bandung, Indonesia.

SELECTED PERFORMANCES
2016
2015
2014
2013
2011

Shadow of the Past, Lasem, Java.
Shadow of the Past, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Breaking Words, Women in Photography Symposium 2014,
School of Art, Design, and Media, NTU in partnership with
Middle East Institute of the University of Singapore, Singapore.
Memory of Nature, Art Stage Singapore, Singapore.
Violence No More, Rapid Pulse, Chicago, IL, USA.
Crossing Point, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore.

2010
2009
2008
2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002
2001

2000

1999

1998

Breaking Words, Richmond Centre for the Arts, Kalamazoo, MI,
USA.
Violence No More, On Edge, Cairns, Australia.
I Love You (After Joseph Beuys Social Sculpture), Esplanade,Singapore.
Breaking Words, Woodford Folk Festival, Brisbane, Australia.
Breaking Words, Sillman University, Dumaguette, the 		Philippines.
Produk Gertoli, Sanata Dharma, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
His-story on My Body, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY, USA.
Flag Performance 1, Rostock, Germany.
Toyota Era, Matsushiro Samurai School, Nagano, Japan.
Breaking Words, Davis Museum, Boston, MA, USA.
Dancing Stitches, JT House, Bangkok, Thailand.
Breaking Words, Satu Kali, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Breaking Words, FOI, Singapore.
Breaking Words, Tokyo, Toyama, Japan.
Learning to Swing, Valentine Willie Gallery, Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia.
We Are Not Hungry, Ambulance International Performance Art
Festival, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Wedding Party (LAPEN Wedding), Kedai Kebun Forum,
Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Un-titled, PSI Conference #10, Singapore.
Soho Baby, 2nd Dadao Live Art Festival, Beijing, China.
Breaking Words, Nagano Expo, Nagano, Japan.
Breaking Words, FIX04, Belfast, Ireland.
Fusion & Strength, Gallery Benda, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
MIP (International Performance Manifestation), Belo 		
Horizonte, Brazil.
Don’t Call it Performance Art, Reina Sophia Museum, Madrid,
Spain; and Andalusia Center for Contemporary Art, Seville,
Spain.
Visit to My World, Asian Fine Arts Gallery, Berlin, Germany.
His-story (III), Ist Woman Performance Art Festival, Osaka,
Japan.
His-story (III), Hillside Terrace, Tokyo, Japan.
Violence - Hate No More, 3rd Performance Biennale, Israel.
Violence No More, Indonesia - Japan Exchange 2001. 		
Bandung, Yogyakarta, and Jakarta, Indonesia.
Violence No More, Ludwig Forum, Aachen, Germany.
Violence No More, Edsvik, Solentuna, Sweden.
Violence No More, Odense Performance Festival, Denmark.
Tell Me the Story, Za Hall, Tokyo, Japan; Japan Society, New
York, NY, USA; and Shiga Museum, Osaka, Japan.
His-story (II), Werkleitz Biennale, Werkleitz, Germany.
His-story (II), Funkhouse, Dresden, Germany.
His-story, Jakarta International Performance Art Festival(JIPAF 2000), Jakarta, Indonesia.
His-story, NIPAF 2000, Taipei, Nagano, Nagoya, Tokyo, Japan.
Show Me Your Heart, Und Ab Die Post, Postfuhramt Berlin,
Germany.
Burning Bodies, Burning Countries II, Cultural Centre 		Phillipines (CCF), Manila, the Philippines.
Newspaper Man, Semanggi Café, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Dayang Sumbi Refuses Status Quo, France Cultural Center,(CCF) Bandung, Indonesia.
Burning Bodies, Burning Country, Musee de Castieva, Almaty,
Kazakhstan.
Art Festival ‘98, Nagano, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Tokyo, Japan.
Festival de Winternachten, the Hague, the Netherlands.
Show Me Your Heart, Nippon International Performance Art
Festival, Asian Series, Nagano, Nagoya, Tokyo, Japan.
Show Me Your Heart, JAXPA 98: Festival of Asian Performance
Art I, Bangkok, Thailand.
Show Me Your Heart, Cemara 6 Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia;
and Jamzz, Jakarta, Indonesia.

1997

1996

1995
1994
1993
1992
1990
1987
1982
1981

Do Not Prevent the Fertility of Mind, Concrete House, 		Bangkok, Thailand.
Handle without Care IV, Havana, Cuba.
Handle without Care, Who Cares?, Museum of Contemporary
Art Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Point Zero - My Mind Gets Stuck, Marsi Gallery, Bangkok,
Thailand.
Offering from A to Z, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Handle without Care I, Brisbane, Australia.
Handle without Care II - You Love Me, You Love Me Not, Z
Gallery, New York, NY, USA.
Handle without Care III, Maga City, Bangkok, Thailand.
Friday Sermon, Claremont Art School, Australia.
Frangipani on Water, with musician Wayan Sadra, 		
Mojosongo, Solo, Indonesia.
Four Faces, Biennale IX, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Uwek-uwek, Ismail Marzuki Art Center, Jakarta, 		
Indonesia.
Knocking the Door, Malioboro Street, Yogyakarta, 		
Indonesia.
My Dog is Dead and then He Flew, Centre Culturelle 		Française, Bandung, Indonesia.
Black Bamboo and White Cloth, Bandung, Indonesia.
Newspaper Man, Bandung, Indonesia.
Accident I, Bandung, Indonesia.

PUBLIC COLLECTIONSAsia Society, New York, NY, USA.
Singapore Art Museum, Singapore.
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.

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