Indonesian Revolution at the Heart of Dutch Civilization
THE grand exhibition Revolusi! Indonesië Onafhankelijk (Revolution! Indonesia Independent) opened in February at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, involving guest curators Amir Sidharta and Bonnie Triyana. A month prior to opening, it already attracted ample attention due to an opinion piece by Bonnie Triyana.
Linawati Sidarto
February 28, 2022
VISITORS are welcomed by an austere room. Projected on the main wall are photos of Sukarno, clad in white with a black kopiah on his head, standing solemnly while reading the declaration of Indonesia’s independence on the morning of August 17, 1945, in the front garden of his home on Pegangsaan Timur 56 in Jakarta.
While this portrait, snapped by photographer Frans Mendur, is carved on Indonesia’s collective memory, this is not the c
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