Nine 1.5-meter-high wayang bedhaya figures stood at the entrance to the Indonesian Pavilion at Arsenale, one of the centers of the 55th Bienalle in Venice, Italy. Anyone who entered was immediately enveloped by a strong Javanese atmosphere. Where most of the creations in other countries' pavilions tended toward the personal, the Indonesian Pavilion was all about identity.

Before I left for Venice, I was offered a wayang, or shadow puppet, made by S