ART-PRESENTATION: Ade Darmawan-Magic Centre
Ade Darmawan’s work deals with the history and people of Indonesia. He focuses on the histories that often remain untold, on minor histories that may seem irrelevant but form important elements of the DNA of particular communities. He uses a broad range of mediums including installations, digital prints and videos.
By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Van Abbemuseum Archive
The multi-media installation “Magic Centre” by Ade Darmawan revolves around the Indonesian publishing company of the same name, which was mostly active in the ‘60s. It serves the artist as a lens through which he examines the social and political changes that reshaped his country during the years Magic Centre was in business. In 1945 Sukarno declared Indonesia’s independence and became the country’s new president. In 1955, Sukarno hosted a conference in Bandung that led to the establishment of the Non-Aligned Movement, an initiative championed by Prime Minister Nehru of India and President Tito of Yugoslavia. The movement united countries that did not want to affiliate themselves with either the Western or the Eastern Bloc, and Sukarno saw them as viable models as he tried to steer an alternative course that blended communism and nationalism. In 1967 Suharto rose to power and changed Indonesia’s political direction. He overthrew the Communist party and was responsible for large-scale massacres. Under Suharto the people in Indonesia were encouraged to embrace capitalism. He described the pro-western direction which the country was taking under his leadership as the New Order. This is the moment Ade Darmawan homes in on in “Magic Centre”. The publishing company rose to prominence with books that promised to enhance the reader’s intellectual abilities. Most were originally written by American authors and were later translated into Indonesian. The books were introduced to help people master life in a new capitalist world, they were introduced in Indonesia during a period of social and political change. Darmawan is interested in this transitional period when Indonesia was changing into a capitalist society. Darmawan uses the publishing company’s books to examine Indonesian society during that period. The installation includes display cases with copies of the books, illustrations from the books, sound materials, a diary of a former worker, objects which he found and purchased, and quotes. It also includes 25 second-hand chandeliers made of damaged and broken fake crystal that together form one large sculpture hanging from the ceiling, a central element of the installation. Three banners adorn one of the walls in the exhibition space. The banners are printed with some of the publishing company’s book covers, stripped of from their titles so that they look like flags.
Info: Curators: Christiane Berndes and Nina Svenson, Van Abbemuseum, Bilderdijklaan 10, Eindhoven, Duration 17/9/16-22/1/17, Days & Hours: Tue-Wed & Fri-Sun 11:00-17:00, Thu 11:00-21:00, https://vanabbemuseum.nl
