Arahmaiani Feisal (Yogyakarta & Tibet)
Breaking Words
Performance
Synopsis: A new iteration of the artist’s renowned 2006 performance for FIELD MEETING, confronts personal and cultural differences through questioning the concept of so-called “truth.” In a poetic call-and-response fashion, audience members offer key words in their lives, which are then written on plates and smashed on the ground by the artist. The work calls attention to a reckoning with mental traps that are set by virtue of all belief systems, societal conditionings, and even education. All of which effect tribulations and failures in cross-cultural interaction.
Arahmaiani Feisal’s FIELD MEETING participation is supported by Alserkal Avenue (Dubai).
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Bio: One of Indonesia’s most seminal and respected contemporary artists, Arahmaiani has been internationally recognized for her powerful and provocative commentaries on social, political, and cultural issues. Born in 1961 in Bandung, Indonesia, she established herself in the 1980’s as a pioneer in the field of performance art in Southeast Asia — although her practice also incorporates a wide variety of media. Shadow of the Past (2016) at Tyler Rollins Fine Art marked her first solo exhibition devoted to her ongoing experiences in Tibet. Since 1980, Arahmaiani has been included in over one hundred solo and group exhibitions around the world. Her works have been performed and exhibited widely in museums and biennials, including: the Venice Biennale (2003); Biennale of the Moving Image, Geneva (2003); Gwangju Biennale (2002); Bienal de São Paulo (2002) among others. In New York City, she was included in the landmark 1996 exhibition, Traditions/Tensions, at Asia Society, as well as Global Feminisms at the Brooklyn Museum in 2007.