This exhibition titled "Tetap Terang: Always Bright" features works by six female Indonesian and international artists—Arahmaiani, Sally Smart, Sinta Tantra, Natisa Jones, Ines Katamso, and Natasha Lubis. It is held in honor of Raden Adjeng Kartini, a prominent Indonesian national heroine and advocate for women's education. While Kartini has traditionally symbolized motherhood and domesticity, this exhibition highlights the diversity of experiences and perspectives among female artists in Indonesia's expanding contemporary art world. The works address themes of identity, mobility, and representation from the artists' varied backgrounds.

1. Sally Smart - Arahmaiani - Sinta Tantra
Ines Katamso - Natasha Lubis - Natisa Jones
TETAP TERANG:
ALWAYS BRIGHT

2. Sally Smart - Arahmaiani - Sinta Tantra
Ines Katamso - Natasha Lubis - Natisa Jones
12 April - 12 May 2018
AMBIENTE, Senopati
TETAP TERANG:
ALWAYS BRIGHT

3. TETAP TERANG:
Female Voices and Indonesia’s
“Expanded” Art World
2
In Indonesia the month of April is a time to honor Raden Adjeng Kartini,
a prominent national heroine from Java. Born on April 21, 1879 into an
aristocratic family, Kartini is recognized for her resistance to the social norms
of the 19th century that restricted the possibilities afforded to women. A
champion of education for girls, Kartini’s legacy lives on, in part, thanks to a
collection of letters first published in 1911, titled Door Duisternis tot Licht or
Habis Gelap Terbitlah Terang (Out of Darkness into Light), from which this
exhibition of six female artists takes its title.
Known in English as Letters of a Javanese Princess, this collection documents
Kartini’s communication with close female friends in the Netherlands via
letters that express her ideals regarding personal development, education,
and self-confidence as well as humanitarianism and nationalism. Yet,
while Kartini has since the late-colonial era been positioned as a symbol,
inseparable from the role of women in the advancement of what would
become the Indonesian state, this position has not come without critique.
For most obviously, besides Kartini, myriad other women have contributed
to Indonesia’s historical past and contemporary development. With this
in mind, the opportunity to consider what Kartini’s legacy means—in the
context of 2018, declared by many as the “year of the woman”—is both
noteworthy and exciting.
3
Exhibition Notes
Ibu Kartini: A Contested Identity
Looking briefly at the historical trajectory of Kartini’s “image,” it is relevant to
consider Kartini’s rebranding as Ibu or Mother Kartini under the New Order
regime. Popularized by the obligatory national song (laguwajib), “Ibu Kita
Kartini,” taught to schoolchildren across the archipelago, Kartini was made
into a symbol of what is referred to as “State Ibuism.” This term, attributed
to feminist journalist Julia Suryakusuma, refers to the social construction
of womanhood in New Order Indonesia by which women were defined as
appendages and companions to their husbands, as procreators of the nation,
as mothers and educators of children, as housekeepers, and as remembers of
Indonesian society—in that order. The first stanza of “Ibu Kita Kartini” reads:
Ibu Kita Kartini – (Our mother Kartini)
Putri Sejati – (A true princess)
Putri Indonesia – (A princess of Indonesia)
Harum namanya – (Fragrant is her name)
A vivid portrayal of an aristocratic Javanese woman—polite, calm, well-
mannered, not causing any trouble—under the New Order Kartini, as the
nation’s eminent heroine, a princess, was made the standard of an ideal
woman. An ideal that stands in contrast to figures like Cut Nyak Meutia or
Cut Nyak Dien, both Acehnese revolutionary heroes who led military troops
against the Dutch. Such figures, who died in battle and exile rather than
childbirth, signify the ability of women to act beyond the domestic sphere,
characterized by traits like aggression and violence that were not of service
to the state for either Sukarno, who first declared Kartini Day in 1964 or
Suharto’s New Order that promoted Kartini’s position as the mother of the
nation.
At first glance these facts might appear as a challenge to Kartini’s place within
the nation. However, they are not meant to suggest that Kartini’s legacy has
been over glorified nor that her position of honor within the nation’s history
should be overturned. On the contrary. It is thanks to Kartini, through the
celebration of Kartini Day, that each year we are given the opportunity to
question, challenge, and reassert what Kartini and her legacy mean to the
expression of women’s voices in Indonesia that are not emerging from the
dark (habis gelap, terbitlah terang) but instead, and much better viewed as,

4. 4
“tetap terang” or always bright, a constant source of light.
In the realm of Indonesian visual arts women’s voices have for decades been
relatively marginalized. A situation that arguably is not unique to Indonesia.
This is in part due to thefact that many women, upon graduation from art
school cease their practice as artists in order to fulfill, much like Kartini, the
demands of family and society—marriage, children, taking care of a home.
In spite of this stereotypical image regarding the fate of female artists, since
the first decades of Indonesia’s independent modern art history, women like
Emiria Sunassa (1891 – 1964) have been present, working alongside their
male compatriots. Understood by many to be one of the first female artists
of note active in what was then the Dutch East Indies, Emiria was a member
of PERSAGI (Persatuan Ahli Gambar Indonesia) or the Association of
Indonesian Drawing Specialists, an organization more commonly associated
with the likes of S.Sudjojono and Agus Djaya. As this exhibition, “Tetap
Terang”, demonstrates, the contribution of female artists in Indonesia’s art
world has and continues to add vibrancy to what is an ever-expanding art
world, illuminated by the experiences of each artist part of this exhibition.
Expanded Worlds: Indonesian Contemporary Art
The map of Indonesian visual art has, since the time of PERSAGI focused on
a handful of “art centers” including Yogyakarta, Bandung, Jakarta, and Bali.
The dominance of these sites has been due to the presence of institutions like
the Indonesian Institute of Art or ISI (Institut Seni Indonesia) in Yogyakarta
and the Faculty of Fine Art and Design at ITB (Institut Teknologi Bandung).
Historically, association with one of these institutions contributed to the
legitimation of an artist as part of a particular “school” and subsequently,
the networks that one was a part of. Today, while these localized art worlds
and their associated institutions remain important, they are no longer
defining barometers of an artist’s position within what I refer to as Indonesia’s
expanded art world. That is, an art world that is increasingly impacted by the
forces of globalization and the experience of artists like Arahmaiani, Sally
Smart, Sinta Tantra, Natisa Jones, Ines Katamso, and Natasha Lubis.
For an exhibition in honor of Kartini, the quintessential Javanese woman,
one might imagine names like Kartika Affandi to be present instead of
Australian artist Sally Smart or British artist of Balinese descent Sinta Tantra.
TETAP TERANG:
ALWAYS BRIGHT
5
By including a diversity of voices representing multiple generations and
global trajectories, this exhibition reveals unique paths of communication
both abstract and concrete—between personal identities (related to gender,
ethnicity, and/or national identification) as well as physical spaces (like
educational institutions, cities where one practices, and/or countries where
one lives)—that call to mind Kartini’s correspondence via letter to friends
who while physically an ocean part, remained for Kartini close in mind and
spirit.
Snapshots: Fluid Identities, Mobile Bodies
As is generally the case with group exhibitions, there is at least a single
characteristic that unites the artists presented. In Indonesia’s visual art world,
unique for its history rooted in the sanggar or artist community, it remains
common to encounter group or collective exhibitions. While sometimes
it is the unite artists (i.e. it is much easier to show together than alone). In
the case of “Tetap Terang” it is both far simpler and more complicated than
this. For while it is obvious that these artists have been brought together
to celebrate Kartini Day because they are women, each artist’s creative
development and mode of aesthetic expression differs, making it difficult to
pinpoint or simplify what unifies these individuals. Although it is impossible
to do justice in a few short paragraphs to the diversity of experience, artistic
concept, and creative practice represented by the artists of “Tetap Terang,”
below I provide snapshots, albeit brief of each artist’s trajectory as well as the
details of their work included in this exhibition in order to reveal what can
be understood as the bricolage of women’s voices presents in Indonesia’s art
world today.
Arahmaiani (b.1961), born in Bandung, was initially trained at ITB. Early
in her career, she established herself as a pioneer in the field of performance
art. In the last four decades, while Indonesia remains a site key to her
practice, Arahmaiani has spent a great deal of time abroad, in part due to
the reception of works like “Lingga-Yoni” (1994) at home. Today, she splits
her time between Germany where she is a visiting professor at the University
of Passau and Tibet where she collaborates with Buddhist monks and local
villagers to foster greater environmental consciousness through ongoing
community projects. As part of “Tetap Terang,” Arahmaiani’s work builds on
her ongoing interest in dialogue as achieved through the visual expression
Exhibition Notes

5. 6
of letters taken from the pegon script, a form of Arabic used to write old
Javanese. Depicted in bright colors and a subtle range of grays, these letters
point to the syncretic nature of Indonesia’s religious past, a key interest in
Arahmaiani’s practice as well as the exploration of her identity as a Muslim
woman.
Sally Smart (b.1960), considered one of Australia’s most significant
contemporary artists has since the 1990s exhibited her work globally in
sites ranging from the United States to China. Her practice, centered on
the production of large-scale cut out assemblage installations, engages with
identity politics and ideas relating to the body, home, and history. Despite
Australia’s close proximity to Indonesia, Smart’s work was first displayed
here in 2005 as part of the Jogja Biennale. Since then her relationship with
Indonesia’s art world has grown thanks to collaborations such as her 2016,
two-person exhibition with Entang Wiharso at the Indonesian National
Gallery entitled, Conversation: Endless Acts in Human History. For “Tetap
Terang, Smart’s works come from her renowned series The Exquisite Pirate,
in which the woman pirate acts as a metaphor for the contemporary global
issues of personal and social identity, cultural instability, immigration, and
hybridity. Currently, Smart is a Vice-Chancellor’s Professorial Fellow at the
University of Melbourne, in the Faculty of Fine Art and Music.
Sinta Tantra (b.1979), described as a British artist of Balinese descent,
while having spent the majority of her life in the United Kingdom, recalls
important memories of long-vacations spent with family in Bali, her parents’
place of birth. Recognized for her site-specific installations in public spaces,
Tantra’s works are described as a hybridity of pop and formalism, a bricolage
of color and rhythm, and an exploration of identity and aesthetics. For
this exhibition Tantra continues her exploration of the aesthetics of ritual,
entwined with the notion of living art central to Balinese culture that acted
as key referents in her most recent solo exhibition, A House in Bali, held
in Jakarta in November 2017. Having produced large-scale installations in
sites ranging from London to Hong Kong, Sinta describes the experience of
exhibiting in Indonesia, for the first time in 2009, as an important one that
has contributed to her ongoing understanding of how people in different
parts of the world interact or communicate through visual expression.
TETAP TERANG:
ALWAYS BRIGHT
7
Natisa Jones (b.1989), born in Jakarta, was raised in Bali. She attended
high school in Chiang Mai, Thailand, university in Melbourne, and now
splits her time between Indonesia (Bali and Jakarta) and the Netherlands
(Amsterdam). Her practice, rooted in her own, ongoing process of internal
dialogue, explores themes concerning identity and the human condition.
As she states, by incorporating text onto image such as the simple yet strong
“able” (as written on the large-scale canvas presented for “Tetap Terang”), she
is able to pull narratives from daily life, to explore issues within identity and
reflect on ideas of the ‘self.’ Having navigated varied contexts throughout her
life – both cultural and linguistic – it is striking that Natisa’s texts more often
than not appear in English, a fact that is perhaps testament to her experience
of foreignness even in a place like Bali. While she is Indonesian, she is not
Balinese. Educated abroad in contexts as different as Thailand and Australia,
the strength of Natisa’s work might be seen in part as the product of a lifelong
journey of determining one’s position within a particular context – an
experience that is not unique to Natisa.
Ines Katamso (b.1990), born in Yogyakarta describes herself as “anak-
campur” or a kid of mixed-nationality. Her father - an Indonesian musician,
her mother - a French tattoo artist, Ines spent the first ten years of her life
in Yogyakarta, before moving to France where she received her education in
art and fashion-design. Shortly after graduation Ines returned to Indonesia
in order to develop her ever-expanding creative practice first as a muralist
followed by the creation of her own Interior design studio, Atelier Seni.
Speaking with Ines about her decision to move from large wall spaces to
canvas, she explains that it was a natural process of self-criticism. Painting
on canvas, Ines is able to explore externally, a type of internal space related to
how her mind transforms distress and anxiety, her process of somatization.
In this exhibition, each canvas, comprised of geometric shapes, lines, and
organic forms, while at first glance whimsical, expresses a much deeper
internal process of self-reflection and discovery.
Natasha Lubis (b.1989), born and raised in Jakarta received her
undergraduate degree in Melbourne and more recently, her masters of fine
art at Goldsmith’s College, London. Having recently returned to Indonesia,
Natasha describes an experience of learning to navigate Indonesia’s art world
in sites ranging from Jakarta her hometown, to Bali, where she has based her
Exhibition Notes

6. 8
studio since returning. Having spent her life in cosmopolitan contexts be
they in Indonesia or abroad, Natasha’s work is influenced by popular culture
and youth subcultures, like that of 1960s and 70s hippie counterculture.
Through a residency at Ketemu Project Bali related to the celebration of the
controversial Balinese female artist I Gak Murniasih or Murni as well as this
exhibition devoted to Kartini, Natasha has begun to explore cultures and
their associated visual repertoires that are closer to home as demonstrated in
her digitally produced collage works that each center around found images of
Indonesian history.
Ultimately what can be gathered from these brief and seemingly disparate
snapshots is a mosaic of sorts illuminated by the diversity of which it is
formed, unified by the common experience of Arahmaiani, Sally Smart,
Sinta Tantra, Natisa Jones, Ines Katamso, and Natasha Lubis as female arts
part of an ever-expanding network of which Indonesia is just one part.
For some of the six artists represented, the question of participating in an
exhibition of female artists was problematic – “why must gender speak above
the work?”, they asked. Whereas for others, participation raised the more
critical question, “why in 2018, is it still necessary to draw attention to female
artists?” A question that aligns with the now global movement for women’s
equality, marked by calls to action like #MeToo. While these questions raised
diverse viewpoints and critical concerns, in discussion with each artist I was
continually struck by the mobility of each woman and the experiences had
both in and beyond Indonesia, described in short above. For this mobility
and experience is markedly different from that afforded to Kartini during her
short life, the result of the era in which she lived.
Katherine Bruhn
PhD Candidate
University of California, Berkeley
TETAP TERANG:
ALWAYS BRIGHT
9
Habis gelap,
terbitlah terang
~Kartini

7. Sinta
Tantra.
10
TETAP TERANG:
ALWAYS BRIGHT
11
A British artist of Balinese descent, Sinta Tantra was born in New York
in 1979. She studied at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College
London in 1999–2003 and at the Royal Academy Schools in London
between 2004–2006. Drawing strongly upon a vibrant palette influenced
by her Balinese heritage, Tantra began her career producing pieces
composed of intricately cut vinyl and painted designs, often featuring
symmetry and exotic motifs in her artworks.
Highly regarded for her site-specific murals and installations in the public
space, most of her work envisions the concept of drawing and color.
While color encourages us to become immersed into a world of otherness,
drawing explores the slippage between the two and three dimensions –
the clarity of line, its distortion, the push and pull. Tantra’s pieces examine
the activity of drawing itself, physically linking the disciplines of painting
together with architecture on a single canvas. Colored motifs collapse and
float – pictorial spaces move towards and away from the viewer. Tantra
asks the question, can painting become architecture? Can architecture
become a painting? For Tantra, there is no question that “art feeds our
minds, our souls and affirms identity. To support the arts is to support the
very essence of what makes us human.”
One of her most notable works includes a permanent 300-meter long
painted bridge commissioned for the 2012 Olympics in Canary Wharf,
London. She has won many awards including the prestigious Deutsche
Bank Award, British Council’s International Development Award and
was shortlisted for the Jerwood Painting Prize. Tantra’s work is in the
collections of the UK’s Government Art Collection as well as in numerous
private international collections.

8. 12
A House in Bali (Diptych)
2018
Tempera on Linen
180 x 320 cm / 4 panels at 180 x 80 cm
TETAP TERANG:
ALWAYS BRIGHT
13
Sinta Tantra
Tabuh Tabuhan Screen II in Sapphire, Violet &
Prussian (Colin McPhee) - 2018
Tempera on Linen
180 x 320 cm / 4 panels at 180 x 80 cm

9. 14
Tabuh Tabuhan II in Prussian
(Colin McPhee) - 2018
Tempera on Linen
120 x 100 cm
Tabuh Tabuhan II in Linen
(Colin McPhee) - 2018
Tempera on Linen
120 x 100 cm
TETAP TERANG:
ALWAYS BRIGHT
15
A House in Bali II
(Night - Sonia Delaunay) - 2018
Tempera on Linen
75.5 x 70.5 x 3.5 cm
A House in Bali II
(Day - Sonia Delaunay) - 2018
Tempera on Linen
120 x 100 cm
Sinta Tantra

10. Arahmaiani.
TETAP TERANG:
ALWAYS BRIGHT
16
Recognized as one of Indonesia’s most influential and respected
contemporary artists, Arahmaiani is known internationally since the 80s
for her powerful and provocative commentaries on social, political and
cultural issues. Born in 1961 in Bandung, Indonesia, she has established
herself as a pioneer in the field of performance art in Southeast Asia,
although her practice incorporates a wide variety of media.
Always supported by a strong theoretical background and true to her
combative spirit, her art has shifted from criticism to activism. Moving
between Indonesia, Tibet, Germany and India, her most recent research
explores the natural environment and spirituality. For the past six years,
she has in particular focused her work on the environmental issues in the
Tibetan plateau region, where she has been collaborating with Buddhist
monks and villagers to increase environmental consciousness through
ongoing community projects.
Arahmaiani has held or participated in over one hundred solo and
group exhibitions around the world. Her works have been performed
and exhibited widely in museums and biennales, including: the Venice
Biennale (2003); Biennale of the Moving Image, Geneva (2003); Gwangju
Biennale in South Korea (2002); Bienal de São Paulo (2002); Performance
Biennale, Israel (2001); Biennale de Lyon, France (2000); Werkleitz
Biennale, Germany (2000); Bienal de la Habana, Cuba (1997); Asia-Pacific
Triennial, Brisbane, Australia (1996) and the Yogya Biennale (1994).
In New York City, she was included in the landmark 1996 exhibition,
Traditions/Tensions at the Asia Society, as well as in the Global Feminisms
exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum in 2007. Her performances and other
artworks have appeared in institutions in the United States, Canada,
Germany, the Netherlands, Japan and Indonesia.
17

11. 18
Silent Rainbow I
2018
Acrylic on Canvas
125 x 150 cm
TETAP TERANG:
ALWAYS BRIGHT
19
Arahmaiani
Silent Rainbow II
2018
Acrylic on Canvas
125 x 150 cm

12. 20
TETAP TERANG:
ALWAYS BRIGHT
Silent Rainbow III
2018
Acrylic on Canvas
125 x 150 cm
21
ArahmaianiArahmaiani
Silent Rainbow IV
2018
Acrylic on Canvas
125 x 150 cm

13. 22
TETAP TERANG:
ALWAYS BRIGHT
Meditative Jawi I
2018
Acrylic on Canvas
125 x 150 cm
23
Meditative Jawi II
2018
Acrylic on Canvas
125 x 150 cm
Arahmaiani

14. 24
TETAP TERANG:
ALWAYS BRIGHT
Sally
Smart.
27
Born in 1960 in Quorn in South Australia, Sally Smart is one of Australia’s
most significant contemporary artists, widely known for her large-scale
collage installations exploring a surreal and fantastic world. She uses a
variety of media, including painted canvas, screen-printing, felt cut-outs,
printed fabric, photography and drawings. She currently divides her time
between Melbourne, Australia and Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Working also increasingly with performance and video, her art engages
identity politics, the home, history and ideas related to the body. Her
themes often intertwine with the ways women are and have been
represented in history and literature. Established as one of Australia’s
leading feminist artists, Smart has won numerous awards and prizes, and
is currently a Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Melbourne.
She received an Australia Council Fellowship in 2014 and was a Sackler
Fellow Artist-in Residence at the University of Connecticut, USA, in 2012.
Her work can be found in leading private and corporate art collections,
including major state galleries in Australia and abroad. She has been
exhibiting in Australia and internationally consistently since 1998. Recent
solo exhibitions include: The Choreography of Cutting, Postmasters
Gallery, New York (2016); Conversation: Endless Acts in Human History
(with Entang Wiharso), Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta (2016);
The Choreography of Cutting, Purdy Hicks Gallery, London (2015);
The Pedagogical Puppet Greenaway Art Gallery, Adelaide (2013);
Choreographing Collage, Breenspace, Sydney (2013). Femmage Shadows
and Symptoms, McClelland Gallery + Sculpture Park, Langwarrin,
Australia. A major public art commission, Shadow Trees was installed in
Melbourne in Australia in 2014.
25

15. 26
The Exquisite Pirate
(Red-Hair-Flag) - 2008 - 2016
Synthetic Polymer Paint on
Canvas with Screen Painting
Foil and Collage Element
195 x 145 cm
The Exquisite Pirate
(Octopus Rauberromantik) - 2008
Synthetic Polymer Paint on canvas with
Screen Print and Collage Elements
198 x 152 cm
TETAP TERANG:
ALWAYS BRIGHT
27
Sally Smart
The Exquisite Pirate
(Red-Flag-Silver) - 2007
Synthetic Polymer Paint on
Canvas with Screen Painting
Foil and Collage Element
182 x 91 cm

16. 28
TETAP TERANG:
ALWAYS BRIGHT
Ines
Katamso.
31
Half French, half Indonesian, Ines Katamso calls herself an ‘’anak
campur’’, a mixed nationality kid, who likes to play with this duality and
combination in both her personality and creative expression. Her studies
in art and design as well as fashion have helped her immensely in finding
a balance between the two cultures, and in expressing it in her own
unique way.
For Katamso, painting directly on the surface of the wall is a simple yet
interesting way to conquer the space. Similar to a flowing narration, it
adds something to the architect’s original creation. Unlike paintings on
canvas, wall art has no limits, no framework, and it can grow anywhere.
The artwork spreads and seduces the viewer with its meaning, colors and
lines. Wall art has to be part of the architecture and the peculiarities of
the overall environment are taken into account; a crack on the wall, a
column to be decorated with the colors of a palm tree in the garden or the
reflection of a nearby river.
Interior design and architecture in particular are close to her heart,
since she works as a muralist since 2012 under the name Atelier Ines.
k. After realizing that design in general is a matter of composition and
construction, Katamso also decided to expand her vision towards product
design by establishing her shoe brand Seni.k. She has shown her artworks
in many exhibitions and galleries such as Biasa Art Space and Swoon
Gallery in Bali and the Indonesian Contemporary Art & Design (ICAD)
exhibition in Jakarta.
29

17. 30
TETAP TERANG:
ALWAYS BRIGHT
Partiellement - Partially -
Sebagian - 2018
Oil painting and pastel on
linen
100 x 93 cm
Transdermique -
Transdermal -
TransdermalI - 2018
Oil painting and pastel
on linen
103 x 152cm
31
Ines Katamso
Expansion – Expansion -
Ekspansi - 2018
Oil painting and pastel on linen
157 x 120 cm
L’Organe – The Organ -
Organ - 2018
Oil painting and pastel
on linen
41 x 51 cm

18. TETAP TERANG:
ALWAYS BRIGHT
Désarroi- Disarray - Kebingungan
2018
Oil painting and pastel on linen
81 x 66 cm
Débordement - Overflow -
Melimpah - 2018
Oil painting and pastel on linen
115 x 85 cm
Lourdeur - Heaviness - Berat
2018
Oil painting and pastel on linen
105 x 74 cm
32
Ines Katamso
Envahissement 1 - Encroachment 1
-Gangguan 1 - 2018
dried flowers and acrulic painting
on acrylic
30cm x 30cm
Envahissement 2 - Encroachment 2 -
Gangguan 2 - 2018
dried flowers and acrulic painting
on acrylic
30cm x 30cm
Envahissement 1 - Encroachment 1
-Gangguan 1 - 2018
dried flowers and acrulic painting on
acrylic
30cm x 30cm
33

19. TETAP TERANG:
ALWAYS BRIGHT
Natasha
Lubis.
34
Born in Jakarta in 1989, Natasha Lubis is an Indonesian artist and a
Goldsmiths College (University of London) graduate with a Master
degree in Fine Art. She has held solo exhibitions and participated
in a series of group shows in London and in Melbourne, Australia,
where she also obtained her Bachelor in Fine Art diploma from
Monash University.
Lubis’ well-characterized approach combines traditional painting
mediums with images she sources in the media representing
female desire in our contemporary society. In her works, she
questions how this desire is portrayed through the lens of pop
culture and the male gaze. Elements of fantasy and phantasmagoria
form an integral part of her visual language, as she aspires to preserve
notions of romanticism and chance for the fantastical within her work.
Many of the fundamental elements which have inspired her since
the beginning of her artistic journey can be found in popular and
alternative youth cultures. Although she has since developed a more
critical and mature perspective, growing up surrounded by intoxicating
and effervescent music has left a lasting impression and continues to
influence her work on many levels. The illusory realities aggressively
spread by the mainstream media encourage or aggravate various
human emotions such as desire, longing, anxiety and even social
delirium, all fascinating topics explored by Lubis through her art.
35

20. 36
TETAP TERANG:
ALWAYS BRIGHT
Myristica, a Mirage
2018
Fine Art Print on Museum
Grade Paper
75 x 93,5 cm
Anima
2018
Fine Art Print on Museum
Grade Paper
100 x 102 cm
37
Natasha Lubis
Paloma
2018
Fine Art Print on Museum Grade Paper
103 x 118 cm

21. TETAP TERANG:
ALWAYS BRIGHT
Natisa
Jones.
38
Born in Jakarta, Natisa Jones is a painter currently sharing her time
between Bali and Amsterdam. Her focus has always been in the field
of fine art and she completed her visual art studies in Chiang Mai in
Thailand, before obtaining a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts Painting at
RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. Inquiring into the human
condition through the concept of ‘process’, her works explore themes
around identity. Her pieces range from small prints and works on paper to
large-scale canvases. She uses mixed media such as collage, ink, graphite
and acrylic paint.
Through the method of documentation and experimentation, Jones’
practice has become a platform where she can confront her own inner
dialogue: “Drawing, painting, writing or whatever the medium is, has
always been my way of documenting the things around me and my
way of attempting to understand things better by processing it through
creating. It’s a space and outlet where I can say something however I want
in whatever form I choose and I can’t be wrong. I can be disliked, but not
wrong.”
Often incorporating text into image, Jones pulls narratives from daily
life, exploring issues within identity and reflecting on ideas of the ‘self
‘. “Making and creating has been part of my being since I was two
years old. It is my way of understanding and genuinely reflecting. The
idea of supporting oneself with something that you naturally need for
self-development is a very weird concept to me”, she explains. She has
participated in group and solo exhibitions in various cities including Bali,
Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Melbourne and Berlin.
39

22. 40
TETAP TERANG:
ALWAYS BRIGHT
Able
2018
Acrylic, Charcoal on Linen Canvas
200 x 150 cm