Sygalls, in collaboration with Christian Hosp, is pleased to bring Indonesian contemporary artists
Christine Ay Tjoe, Erik Pauhrizi, Handiwirman, Heri Dono, Ronald Manulang, Pintor Sirait, RE
Hartanto, Radi Arwinda, Tromarama, Ugo Untoro, Yuli Prayitno, Yusra Martunus and Tisna Sanjaya
to the wider audiences of Berlin. Curator, Asmujo Jono Irianto, has drawn together these exemplary
artists from across the spectrum of the Indonesian contemporary art world.

The title of the show, Made In Indonesia (a title in dialogue with Meghan Dailey’s article ‘Made in
America’ for the exhibition catalogue for ‘USA Today’), offers the central thread: the common origin of
these artists and work. It would be simplistic, however, to think that one exhibition can encapsulate a
society. Contemporary Indonesian artists and their art practices are as diverse as their society.

Indonesian art and artists have grown since the 1998 reformation from being under appreciated
and unsupported, both internationally and at home, into a developed, thriving, creative world. From
independence in 1945, through to the end of the Suharto era, Indonesia lacked the institutional
support it needed to promote and support its modern and contemporary artists. With a growing interest
in pluralist forms, Indonesian artists are gaining the attention of Indonesia, as well as a the wider art
community.

Themes in contemporary Indonesian art have shifted: From a focus on politics and social dynamics in
the 1990s, to a greater concern with popular culture and personal narrative in the ‘post-political’, ‘post-
reform’ era. Of particular concern is the intractable tie between the local and the global. The diversity
of artists represented in Made in Indonesia, with their shared country of origin, offers a glimpse at the
range and multiple identities of contemporary Indonesian art, society and culture.