Our First Impressions and Basic Intro to Yogyakarta
All foreigners and Indonesians we met during our trip rave about Yogyakarta (map), simply called Jogja by locals. The city is famed as the 'cultural capital of Java', home to batik-making and handicrafts, traditional dance and poetry, wayang kulit (shadow puppet performances, which we have wanted to see for so long) and a mix of religions and cultures. The area is active not only culturally but also seismically. We’ve been very excited about coming here; it may sound strange as we actually try to avoid big cities (well, it did happen that in spite of our dislike of metropolises we ended up really enjoying some of them, like Yangon or Mandalay). Jogja has a special status in Java: it's ruled by a sultan, living in the Kraton, and the state has managed to be independent even in times of hardship. It's divided into kampungs, small districts which are like villages within the city, with gates and houses forming walls around them, and a strong community life. The area of Sosrowijayan is our first pick. At 3am it's quiet and lit by only a few lamps. We walk in from the adjacent Tugu train station after a night train ride from Bandung. Our guesthouse called Tiffa is located in a narrow street; we knock on the door and are led up to our room to get some sleep. Well, we quickly realise that it won’t be our favourite accommodation so we look around in the area nearby. It turns out that we are lucky to have booked it in advance since all the similarly priced guesthouses are full. 'OK, we will survive, focusing on the city!’ We head to the Kraton, walking along Malioboro street, which is busy with batik sellers and where the main market also takes place, with a lot of food stalls around. The Kraton itself does not make a real impact on us, but today there is a rehearsal of traditional Javanese dance and music going on.
We sink into the sounds of the gamelan while watching the slow and precise movements of the dancers. Due to it being a rehearsal, they have virtually no make-up on, and we watch them from a few metres away, their efforts and sweating visible. First we go along with the girls, from young beginners to elder, professional women, seeing how the teacher corrects them, showing a good example or holding their arms, and pushing their waists.
The dance of the men is more dynamic with wider movements. Surprisingly, there are a bunch of overweight dancers but they're still able to follow the choreography with elegant movements.
After the rehearsals there are solo performances with full make-up.
On our way back to our guesthouse we stop at the market, which is a huge, 3-storey complex, full of veggies, batik, and food-stalls. We are probably too tired after an all-night journey, and a few hours of dance performances, and it’s really hot, so we just feel like getting lost among the vendors. It’s time for some rest.
ArtJog and Kampung … with Yantri
Finally, after three months we manage to meet Yantri, our friend and precious 'visa sponsor' in Indonesia. We got to know each other at Happy Healing Home in Thailand. There are no words to describe how happy we are! She arrives to town late in the evening and all of us are tired but we need to be kicked out of Viavia Restaurant to put an end to our talking. We chose this place to meet because of a jazz concert of a local band - it’s the first time since we set off that we’ve had a chance to listen to such music.
Recently Yantri has been mentoring a group of Canadian architect students in Jakarta, and one reason they came to Jogja is the ongoing annual ArtJog Exhibition, which we visit together. There are 103 masterpieces dedicated to the topic of ‘Legacies of Power’, which is very current in Indonesia due to the presidential elections of 9 July. In our opinion, reaching the new generation (most of the visitors are young people) and making them think through contemporary arts is brilliant.
"Samsul Arifin: Goni Cabinet
2014, Mixed media installation
This work is a satire on the people’s representatives in the Cabinet. Although seemingly smart and highly intellectual, they seriously lack social sensitivity. Featuring behaviours uncharacteristic of leaders, the Goni Cabinet is displayed in a variety of poses and narratives, inviting you to freely interpret these expressions."
"Hendra ‘Hehe’ Harsono: Death by Rice
2014, Acrylic on teak block
In 1966, Indonesia was the world’s first largest rice importer. Through the agrarian revolution proclaimed by the late President Suharto, Indonesia became self-sufficient in rice in 1984. However, these last few years have seen us return to being an importer of rice, the second largest after the Philippines."
"Titarubi: History Repeats Itself
2014, Fiberglass beads, acrylic sheets, light
‘History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce,’ as expressed by Karl Marx in his renowned book Das Kapital. If every generation hopes that subsequent generations will fix their current mistakes, then the same mistakes will keep on repeating and things will never get better. Being ignorant of history and failing to fix the wrongs now will only lead to a catastrophe."
"Arya Pandjalu: Shielded (Yang Dilindung)i
2014, Papier-maché, stainless steel, auto paint, 190 x 168 x 95 cm
Communication technologies immerse us in an ocean of information that often manipulates our view, reflecting an artificial reality. A similar phenomenon is present in the long series of violent drama by the New Order military regime that is becoming increasingly destroyed. Exposure to blinding light will automatically make us shield the eyes and protect them from this effect."
"RM. Soni Irawan: A Hundred Hopes (Tribute to Street Fighters)
2012-2013, Mixed media on wood & plate (found objects), various dimensions (100 pieces)
This work is inspired by frequent encounters with the placards I see on the streets every day. They are a reflection of the spirit of the little people who are doing anything they can to make a living. These placards are voicing hopes for the new leader who will hopefully be thinking more of them, the little people with a large zest for life."
"Ari Bayuaji: Promises (From The Series of Silence, 2014)
2014, Wood, acrylic, string, Variale dimensions (240 pieces)
‘Promises’ presents 250 pieces of empty and therefore silent wooden bells with geometric speech bubbles painted on both sides. This work is an expression of the hustle and bustle at the eve of elections, when all the local and state candidates scramble for public sympathy, showering them with sweet yet empty promises."
"Dadi Setiyadi: The Players
2014, Acrylic on canvas, 308 x 209 cm
This work illustrates a game when all the pawns are busy playing for their positions without knowing exactly the powers that hover above them. This pattern has repeatedly occurred through time, only the faces and packaging have differed. A competition to be the bigger invisible player - playing with power in a game of power."
"David Armi Putra: Gemah Ripah Loh Jinawi
2014, Acrylic, canvas, plywood, 173 x 283 cm
Elections only replace the names and faces of the people in government, yet the system remains the same: a democratic government with a capitalistic economic system within a nationalistic framework. This system however, is much more problematic than the people running it. If we truly want real change, what we need is a system that is much better, whose rules and laws are not men-made. Not a monarchy, not a theocracy and not a democracy. A system that is just and grand that does not compartmentalise people based on their ethnicities; a system that regulates all aspects of human life that originates from the Creator of men and the Universe."
"Anusapati: Pandora’s Box
2014, Wooden doors, stone base, 110 x 110 x 160 cm
This work reflects a critical attitude any form of inheritance passed down by our predecessors which consists of not only good virtues but also bad ones. Inheritance is akin to a Pandora’s Box, with its doors tightly shut and awaiting someone to try it open."
"Dessy Safira: Recollect, Reminisce, Recover
2013, Ceramic, stoneware, slip cast, alteres, middle firing glaze, pine wood, Variable dimensions (50 pieces)
Economic inequality is still a major problem in Indonesia. The little people, often overlooked by leaders, are tossed about under the sway of the ruling power. Every time they attempted to move forward, they are easily crushed. Such stagnation! It is difficult for the little people to voice their opinions, and thus only anguish appears on these faceless figures, their body language capturing their suffering."
"Dodik Wahyu: Choose The Chair
2014, Acrylic, MDF, print sticker, LED, 160 x 260 x 30 cm
The chair has an advantage over the rest of the furniture kingdom because of its symbolism which is most prestigious. In the world of politics, people fight over chairs as they represent the power of the office."
"Maryanto: Food Self-Sufficiency
2014, Acrylic on canvas, 200 x 200 cm, 200 x 150 cm
Agriculture and food self-sufficiency are the focus of this work, inspired by a picture by a photographer of the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) featured at the Tropenmuseum in Netherland. The photo was used by VOC to promote agricultural products in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) for resale in Europe. It shows that at the time of colonialism we were not only able to feed ourselves but also foreign nations in need; an irony since now we have to import food to meet our domestic requirements."
Olga Rindang Amesti: Mind and Boxes - Art14Jog Young Artist Award Winner
2014, Mixed media
"This work highlights the turbulence leading up to the momentum of leadership change by placing political actors and aspiring leaders in the respective boxes. They come from different political parties, who should all have the same goals, but was the party meant to be a vehicle or merely a box: one that creates power or simply one to show off? Within their respective boxes, their behaviour is designed to attract the sympathy of people, who mostly would know nothing outside that box."
Thanks to Yantri, who neatly arranges different activities for her group, we have the chance to join a meeting with a successful kampung community. We sit at the newly built communal space, eating delicacies prepared by the women and listening to the enchanting story of the building project initiated by Yantri’s friends.
ArtKom is a local architect-activist group working with communities, providing organisational knowledge, tools and design. They help to start up projects, and then let them grow and run, only providing advocacy when needed.
Saving groups have been created among the community to collect money for renovations and buildings, starting with as little as IDR 1000 (HUF 20) per day per family. In four months they were able to collect enough money to build the communal space!
The idea of building this came from the local women. They are the driving force of community life as they spend more time around the house and get together frequently. It was a good opportunity for them to get involved in a project which is normally men’s task.
There was a strong need for a meeting point, and the architect solved the problem of lack of space simply and elegantly by designing the bamboo construction above the canal.
Watch the project’s documentary here.
Cuisine of Jogja (from a vegetarian's perspective)
We’re warned early enough that people in Jogja eat everything sweet, but besides the sweet-flavoured dishes and even salads, there’s a stunning variety of sweet delicacies sold on the street and in stores.
Here’s an incomplete list of what we tried and liked:
Lotek: this is our pick! sliced, compressed rice, fried tofu, boiled eggs (you can always ask them to leave out any ingredients you don’t like), also boiled and fresh vegetables, mixed with peanut-chilli-palm sugar paste, prepared in a mortar in front of your eyes, and served with a handful of krupuk. It’s a simple and filling cold dish which was our favourite as vegetarians and everywhere / always available meal. See ‘how to make' lotek below (hover over the photos with the mouse for a description):
Bakpia: about 3cm diameter round-shaped cones filled with mung beans, cheese, sweet potato, peanut, chocolate, strawberry, covered with a thin pastry
Rujak: we introduced this salad before
Es kelapa muda: freshly sliced coconut, sweet milk, ice, sugar (yes); there are variations with colourful jelly.
Angkrinan: It is not a dish, but a typical way of spending the night sitting and chatting around a push cart lit only by candlelight. A variety of food is presented, you take your time to choose from rice wrapped into banana leaves, fried tempeh, tofu, fish, mushroom or meat sate, boiled veggies. Some are grilled on the spot after you’ve finished selecting the ingredients.
Gudeg: a traditional breakfast, lunch or dinner; jackfruit cooked in coconut milk with spices, occasionally with eggs / tofu / green beans. There’s a good recipe here.
Taro / Cassava purée mixed with fresh coconut, sugar and salt. A breakfast on its own.
Coconut doughnuts
Bayam leaves: Bayam (spinach) leaves dipped into a mix of flour and water, then deep-fried. Crunchy!
Nasi kuning, 'the yellow rice’: cooked in coconut milk with turmeric and lemongrass
Rice cake: small slices of flat, salty rice cakes mixed with coconut, and grilled on the street using small, open fireplaces.
Nasi Pecel: rice with spicy peanut sauce, it can be ordered with boiled veggies (mostly dark green leaves) and/or grilled chicken, fish, tofu, eggs.
Klepon : a Javanese sweet made of rice flour, coconut, pandan leaf and gula merah (palm sugar)
….stay tuned, further chapters are coming soon!
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