Vakantie in Indonesië (Holiday in Indonesia) explores the critical role that photography plays in moulding the perspectives we have of the colonised. The artwork features photographs of colonisers in awkward circumstances while holidaying in the Mooi Indies. In doing so, it recalls the staged photographs of locals taken by colonial photographers, who subsequently framed them as anthropological facts. The work’s sardonic reversal of circumstances underscores how our ways of seeing have been shaped by the colonial gaze, while highlighting the power imbalances that continue to persist in the present.

Artist: 
Agan Harahap

C-print
Dimensions variable

The Picturing Power series of photomontages responds to the use of photography as a means to expand colonial power. By drawing on and appropriating specific elements from archival images from the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam — an institution founded in 1864 to present knowledge from Dutch colonies overseas — to create new scenes, Yee I-Lann has generated new ways of apprehending the relationship between colonist and colonised. In doing so, the work prompts us to recognise image-making’s function in establishing and maintaining power hierarchies.

Artist: 
Yee I-Lann

Courtesy of:
The Gouws Collection

Giclée print
63 x 180 cm

Eddy Susanto hybridises two 13th-century literary works: the Book of Hours, a type of personal prayer book originating from Europe; and Smaradahana, a 12th-century Javanese poem. In doing so, the artist highlights the universality of cultural literacy during that time period, despite the differences between these two cultures. Moreover, through the inclusion of an MP3 player within the installation, the artist also argues for the importance of recognising these medieval texts as ancient forms of technology that shaped the cultural identities of today.

Artist: 
Eddy Susanto

Courtesy of:
The Gouws Collection

Acrylic on canvas, wood, MP3 player
180 x 291cm

BARONG Singa Laut 700 and BARONG Singa Laut 200 bring into perspective the extensive history of the island of Singapura. These “lion-dance” costumes draw multiple allusions to the Merlion, a Singaporean motif, and the Barong, a Southeast Asian one. While both creatures are of seemingly mythological origins, the chimerization of their attributes also makes apparent their distinctions: while the myth of the Barong predates the 10th century, the Merlion was conjured only as recently as 1964.

Artist: 
Jimmy Ong

Courtesy of:
The artist and 3Pumpkins, in collaboration with the Tak Takut Kids Club (TTKC)

Quilted repurposed textiles
Dimensions variable