PEPUNDEN - On Women, Power and Traditions
, by Biasa Group, 1 min reading time
The spirit of decolonization in contemporary art has shifted a number of fundamental perspectives on the boundaries and definitions of contemporary art by deconstructing the dominance of the highly modern western art system. Decolonial discourse mainly affects the way global art includes diverse art practices coming from many parts of the world by taking into account the different contexts of different cultures and geopolitics. What has been categorized as traditional art or indigenous art is now being re-examined for its relevance and position among contemporary art practice and discourse. The experience lived by the artists in the more established art scenes, such as in Europe, is different from that of the fellow artists in Indonesia (moreover, with the contexts that vary widely from one location to another). In art scenes dominated by power contestations—between the capitalistic and the communal, masculine and feminine, the dominant and the subaltern—there is an opportunity for discussion of new possibilities or the creation of a liminal space in between. This is a step that may lead to changes and give rise to solidarity platforms. The art scene is in need of a new approach to reexamining the forms of art that have long been abandoned, wiped out, and concealed, as a part of the real and relevant art practice today. We should see art from our own perspective, instead of “justifying” the viewpoint of the “outside world”.
