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Manusia Serupa (above)
2005
14 pieces @ 39 x 12 x 16 cm
Ceramics



Fragment (below and opposite page)
2005
Dimensions vary
Bricks and cement





Nurdian Ichsan

Nurdian Ichsan (born in Bandung in 1971) graduated from the Art and Design Faculty, Bandung Institute of Technology—where he then obtained his master's degree in 2002. He has been involved in various exhibitions, such as: “Pameran Keramik Kreatif” (Creative Ceramics Exhibition), Art and Ceramics Museum, Jakarta (2005); “Special Student Exhibition,” Tajimi City Pottery Design and Tehnical Center, Tajimi City, Japan (2003); “Shimin Plaza Festival,” Tajimi Industry and Culture Center, Tajimi, Japan (2002), and “Jejak Tanah dan Api” (Traces of Soil and Fire), 3000 years terracotta, National Museum, Jakarta (2001).

Urban, in my understanding, refers to a specific condition, especially in the cities that have undergone modernization up to a certain level. What becomes the focus of attention in my work is the experience of the human subject within such reality.

My work is in the form of a collection of human figures and building elements in miniatures. The human figures and building elements are used as both are icons that in our experience have long been a source of narration and symbols in art works.

In my work, I wish to present the experience and sense of the viewer as a subject in relation to other things outside him-or-herself. My work can also be directly seen as a representation of the individual conditions, or of the interindividual relationships, or a portrayal of the matter of human beings and their environment.

The congregation of Manusia Serupa presents our daily experience when interacting with others. Determination in inter-individual relationships are defined by the self, and identity can very well be something left unsaid.

In Fragment, the basic structure of the bricks is used to build elemental forms. At a glance, the incompleteness of the fragments is due to its separation from the context of a complete building. However, it is actually caused by the absence of human beings. The identities of the fragments are incomplete, as the function and scale of the human being will invariably add to their existence.

My work has been based on the effort to present the most basic and individual experience. The linkage with the theme of Urban/Culture is highly dependent on the quality of the viewer's experience toward the environment. The highly personal dimensions of alienation, separation, and loneliness, can be present simultaneously with communality, uniformity, and diversity. (Artist's statement)

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