A total of 14 artworks and creations from UGM alumni were exhibited at the Week of Art, Architecture + Urbanism (WA+U) event on December 14-21 at the Hardjasoemantri Cultural Center (PKKH) UGM. The exhibition which was held to enliven the 14th Anniversary of UGM displayed various works of alumni who have been pursuing their respective fields.
One of the artworks was a batik guitar by Haryo Sasongko, a graduate of UGM Architecture in 1968. This G&B brand guitar is eccentric because of the batik ornaments on it. Sasongko said that he had been playing bass guitar since 1964. However, in 1994 he had the idea of making a batik guitar until finally in 2016 he received an award for it from the Indonesian Records Museum.
The works of Kenzo and Nita displayed batik patterns as a cultural heritage. Batik is used not only as a fashion, but also as a decoration of guest rooms, bedrooms and utensils. However, what made it unique is it uses natural dyes called batik natural indigo.
Other artworks included anatomy of the human brain surrounded by thousands of cellphone SIM cards hanging on a thread. Around the miniature of the brain, SIM cards from used cellphones were seen scattered around. The work explains how the memory of the human brain cannot be separated from communicating via cellphones and accessing various information data through the internet.
The coordinator of the WA+U exhibition, Bernard ‘Ben’ Sihombing, said most of the artworks exhibited in this event were created by graduates of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, UGM. According to him, the various installation artworks resulted from creative ideas that are academic, popular and can be enjoyed by millennial generations. “Their works are the result of collaboration between fellow alumni, the community and entrepreneurs,” he said.
He said of the 14 works divided into two groups, four artworks of the most senior alumni from the 1960s to the 1970s were exhibited on the second floor, while those of alumni who graduated in the 2000s were exhibited on the lower floor. “There were around 30 works that entered. After we curated, 14 works were chosen,” he said.
There were two works of alumni living in Germany and Japan. They displayed art in the form of applications and robots related to construction. “We display their work through a multimedia screen,” he said.
Although this is the first time, Ben hoped that this kind of exhibition would be regularly held every year with different themes. He said this year’s exhibition tends to cover themes on art, architecture and urban design.
Source: https://ugm.ac.id/id/berita/18889-alumni-ugm-gelar-pameran-karya-seni-instalasi
