'A desire of history' can be a futile phrase. Since in the junior high school, student were taught that "prehistory" is the period before literary artifacts were found. Is it possible, then, that everything in the past is written for and read by the future generations?.We understand that most of the past events and things are not recorded. The writing of the history always chooses one thing and disregards another.

As far as history is concerned, Andry Moch. is a part of the "small narrations," a part of the biographies of people close to him, of people he knows. Who is Andry? Then, for us, the next question is: What is the importance of the people around him? In the realm of art, the question becomes entirely different. Andry sees the opportunity to make history far more egalitarian that it currently is, if only for a while.

Besides an artist, Andry is also a graphic designer and actively involved in the world of underground publishing. These two activities have supported his creative process. Andy is inclined to show his resistance toward things considered as the mainstream, and his visual works tend to make use of graphic techniques.

Andry's work in this exhibition shows the portrayal of several figures that he combines with various elements. Reading an artwork usually means giving meanings to all elements included in the work. In Andry's work, elements in the forms of writings, pictures, and objects appear to explain the figures presented in the work. Viewers are encouraged to treat everything as artifacts, reading them to recognize the figures. Naturally, Andry does not merely combines these elements. He searches, picks up, and executes. Anyway, what we get is a collection of fragments whose meaning depend on our own way of seeing.

Here Andry tries to give room for our participation. He constructs a bibliography that can on one side strengthen the characters of the presented figures; on the other, it will enable the work to be copied and re-presented. We can make notes on his works, and the notes will then become artifacts. It is as if we can create the "history" of the characters. The work has been presented several times before; each presentation means another execution of the image of every character and at the same time create an open possibility of an "historical creation."

Andry's desire to subvert history through works of art, in turn leads to subversion of the position of the artist who always wish to create some splendid, superior meanings through visual compositions. Narration is in fact unstable. Someone can break the sequence of narrations, for example, when he or she sees an element of the work as something connected neither with the character presented, nor with the historical narration. Such installation work indeed places viewers directly face-to-face with the artifacts. The intention of the artist is hidden behind the arrangement of the artifacts. Meanings become relative.

Heru Hikayat

Born on March 15, 1977 in Bandung.
Studied in School of Arts, Indonesia Education University (UPI), Bandung.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
1998 "Alternative Actions", Pentagon Building, Institute of Education Science (IKIP), Bandung.
1999 Blup Art, Gallery of Dago Tea House, Cultural Centre, Bandung.
2000 PEKSIMINAS Contestant, Soemardja Gallery, Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Bandung; Bandung Young Artists Exhibition, Popo Iskandar Art Space, Bandung.
2001 "Public Art. (enjoy art here)", public spaces in Bandung BAE Biennale, Soemardja Gallery, ITB, Bandung; Philip Morris Indonesian Art Award, National Gallery, Jakarta.
2002 "Concept of Doing; Act of Doing", Fabriek Gallery, Bandung "RHIZOME PROJECT", The British Council, Jakarta; The Bandung Video, Film and New Media Art Forum, Rumah Nusantara Art Space, Bandung; "Aura Machine", Fabriek Gallery, Bandung and Koong Gallery, Jakarta.

back to top