Buku Lanjuran “AWAS! Recent Art from Indonesia”

Penerbit: Cemeti Art Foundation & Walter Spies Society, published in conjuction with the exhibition AWAS! Recent Art from Indonesia
Tahun Terbit: 2000
Tebal: 160 halaman
ISBN: 979-95909-2-7

Kondisi: Old Stock

The word ‘awas‘ is basically a neutral word meaning ‘take care’ or ‘remember’. But in the context of power, the meaning of this word is not simply to warn someone to take care, but also connotes a deliberate threat by someone whose pretensions to power are greater than another’s. Under these cirumstances, the word ‘awas‘ becomes a part of the language used to keep a tight reign on people’s political behavior in the interests of asserting power.

In this way, the word ‘awas‘ is commonly used by a repressive regime to project an image of itself as a democratic regime. The political practices of the New Order regime effectively demonstrated that the word ‘awas‘ was used to oppress the wishes of the people to take political action that conflicted with the interests of the regime. ‘Awas‘ not only become a dogma aimed at eroding subversive elements in sections of society that tried to oppose the regime; the word also infiltrated ‘political education’ right from elementary school. It is not surprising then that ‘awas‘ fashioned uniformity, ‘awas‘ forged the commando system, ‘awas’ demanded absolute obedience, and last but not least ‘awas‘ negated any plurality of political aspirations. This was the political aesthetic of the New Order regime.

But ‘awas‘ had a weak side. Besides being a tool of oppression, apart of ‘awas‘ is also the fear that this power will be lost. It is the side that has been continually gnawed at by the few people who wish to express their opposition over the three decades the New Order regime was in power. Among those are the artists involved in this exhibition, The Cemeti Art Foundation is proud to present their expressions, which swell the voice of opposition to a repressive regime. The ‘AWAS! Recent Art from Indonesia’ exhibition truly shows the two sides of the repressive political coin. On the one hand it presents a portrait of anti-democratic political practice; but on the other hand it reveals the collective sins of the people who allowed this authority to continue for many years.