Indonesian Sculptures, Between Brussels and Liege
AT the end of January 2018, the massive Europalia Indonesia festival in Europe will come to an end. This time around, Indonesia follows Turkey as principal guest in the biennial arts festival in Brussels, Belgium. For four months starting October 2017, Indonesia has presented various forms of art, from dance, music, literature to fine arts, not only in Belgium but also in cities in Germany, the Netherlands and France. The event’s major highlights are two substantial Indonesian cultural exhibitions in Brussels and Liege. In Brussels, the exhibition is titled “Ancestors and Rituals,” and in Liege “Les Royaumes de la mer: Archipel” (Kingdoms of the Sea – Archipelagos). Dozens of Indonesia’s masterpiece sculptures are on exhibit in both cities. Curating and shipping these sculptures were a long process as they had to be collected from Jakarta, Bali, Sumatra, Ambon as well as other regions. Several dance performances and fine arts exhibitions are also presented in a number of cities in Belgium. Tempo’s Seno Joko Suyono reports on the festival.
January 1, 2018
IN Brussels, the Prajnaparamita sculpture from the Singosari Temple sat elegantly on bamboo stilts. It has been winter in the city for three weeks. Subdued lighting at the Palais de Beaux-Arts (Paleis voor Schone Kunsten) museum, known to the public simply as ‘Bozar’, makes it seem as if the sculpture was exuding an unearthly aura.
The statue, normally kept at the Jakarta National Museum, is positioned not far from the sculpture pair of Maj
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