Program

August 21 - September 13, 2009

Beatrix Hendriani Kaswara Solo Exhibition
August 21^st - September 13^th, 2009

Opening
Friday, August 21^st, 2009 | 4.00 PM
Officiated by Edwin Rahdjo
Curated by Agung Hujatnikajennong


Artist Talk
Friday, September 11^th, 2009 | 3.00 PM

In communication study, noise is a random unintended disturbance appearing in the process of transmission of information by the sender to its receiver. In the transmission process, noise can come up due to, for instance, another message that appears and disturb the main message; or when the data being transferred was damaged so that the message becomes incomplete. Noise can come up in the process of moving images transmission because of imperfect process of signal reception, the damage on the data, and thermal or electromagnetic trouble inside television’s cathode ray tube or screen.
Since November 2008, Beatrix Hendriani Kaswara has worked on paintings by exposing depiction of noises she has seen on different occasions when watching different kind of moving images, especially television. On several television image program that are considered imperfect, damaged, or error, she found interesting visual aspects—composition, lines, shape, colors—which she considers as giving different artistic dimension and information. On her paintings, we can find details that may remind us to Cubism—due to distortion composition of objects, or the slices of colorful geometrical shapes. We may also be reminded of Surrealism, for instance, because of the position of a figure’s head that is misplaced, or parts of the body that look doubled.
Works in this exhibition are not only aimed at the potentials of communication and information breakdown in the domain of two-dimensional images. Owing to the images taken from television, Beatrix’s paintings also deal with representation of society in the popular culture, especially dealing with woman as subject-matter. By presenting the noises on her painting, Beatrix deconstructs all the stereotypes of woman presented by television program (soap opera, commercials, news, etc.).
What Beatrix has presented in this exhibition can be seen as an effort to make painting both as artistic exploration of ideas and layered signifying practices. This exhibition shows further-reaching potential—it is further than merely a naïve use of technology to explore artistic possibility. Beatrix’s efforts in observing ideological impacts of media technology have made Beatrix’s works possessing conceptual contents, without having to become a conceptual art par excellence. (Agung Hujatnikajennong-Exhibition Curator)