Jompet (Agustinus Kuswidananto)

The artist Jompet sees the history of his homeland of Indonesia as being constantly in a state of transitional tension—politically, culturally, and socially. Throughout the country’s history, outside influences have threated traditional Indonesian culture with multiple colonizers, advances in industry and technology, and globalization. Indonesian culture has absorbed multiple facets of the infringing cultures, while aspects of traditional life have still remained—a dichotomy the artist describes as syncretism. Using video, sound, and installation, Jompet’s works re-interpret Indonesian socio-cultural history, particularly with the country’s various transitions. In his multi-video and installation piece, Java’s Machine: Family Chronicle (2011), Jompet examines an estrangement between a father and son—the father representing traditional Indonesian culture and the son representing the influx of a new globalized culture—and explores the transitional state of Indonesian culture through the Indonesian family.

Jompet is a self-taught artist with no formal art education. His work has been exhibited widely internationally. Selected solo exhibitions include: the Gervasuti Foundation, Venice, Italy (2011); Para/Site Art Space, Hong Kong (2010); Osage Gallery, Singapore (2009); Cemeti Art House, Yogyakarta, Indonesia (2008). Selected group exhibitions include: Moscow Biennale for Young Art, Moscow, Russia (2012); Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA, USA (2012); Jogja National Museum, Yogyakarta, Indonesia (2011); Saatchi Gallery, London, UK (2011); Singapore Art Museum, Singapore (2011); Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai, China (2010); Centraal Museum Utrecht, The Netherlands (2009).