The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT10) Catalogue

Artists The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art 62 Kita 2021 (work in development, artist studio, Kedewatan, Bali) Strings of pumice stone, carved stone and coconut shells / Site-specific installation / Commissioned for APT10 / Courtesy: The artist (opposite) Numpang Lewat 2021 Mixed media, site-specific installation / Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA), Ubud, Bali, Indonesia / Image courtesy: The artist I Made Djirna is one of Bali’s most respected practising artists. He is a painter, sculptor, collector and visionary, and there remains little distinction between his art and the life he inhabits. Djirna’s studio in Kedewatan, central Bali, is a sprawling other-worldly space where a series of open buildings and courtyards have been transformed into immersive encounters with collected materials, spontaneous installations and haunting paintings. The artist amasses tonnes of materials in this space for his projects, in which reclaimed and repurposed objects are treated with a deep consideration of their place in time, nature and human-utility. Djirna’s approach blends the experience and textures of indoor, outdoor, private, shared and ritual spaces, resonating with the shared living, working and spiritual environments particular to family-living in Bali and the presence of nature on the island. Kita 2021 is an installation built of pumice stone, rock, terracotta and dried coconut husks. It is a textured and immersive environment that evokes the space of ritual and draws attention to the essence of its materials. Hundreds of rocks and stones are strung together to create curtain-like assemblages, and monumental towers of material fall to the ground with faces and figures emerging between natural forms. For Djirna, the many strings that link the hundreds of stones represent an underlying concept of togetherness and unity in the construction of the self. There are two different words in Bahasa Indonesian that loosely translate as ‘we’ — kita and kami — both of which imply ‘togetherness’. Kami is used as a possessive pronoun which distinguishes one group from another (as in ‘us’ and ‘them’); while kita is used in an inclusive manner. Djirna’s Kita evokes his holistic and interconnected view of the materials and meaning in his work. 1 Djirna’s practice is imbued with the distinctive sensibilities of Balinese language and ritual. The artist’s daily gathering and use of everyday materials echoes the prevalence of canang sari ; Balinese-Hindu offerings constructed from sticks, leaves, flowers and fruits that can be part of larger offerings for holy places or simple gatherings on the roadside and entries to homes. The materials Djirna employs include those used in ceremonial daily culture as well as those — such as pumice stone — that carry remnants of the volcanic environment of Bali and its ancient history. The artist places importance in the history instilled in objects, and likewise the places they have survived in. Djirna collects pumice stones and coconut shells (as well as other natural objects) from shores and forests in Bali and different places in Indonesia and sculpts figures in terracotta using rudimentary outdoor firing. The history and transformative qualities inherent in such materials — such as the volcanic nature of pumice stone and life-preserving quality of coconut as a carrier of water — along with the fact they are found in other parts of the world, are important considerations for Djirna. Furthermore, through this subject, the artist also considers his Balinese culture as part of Indonesian identity across the broader archipelago. Faces are carved on some of the pumice stones in Kita , and different colours and sizes form patterns through the work when viewed as a whole. We are confronted by the artist’s perspective of a deep-rooted inclusivity, where togetherness as an individual, family, nation or international community is recognised. In Djirna’s words, Kita operates as an invitation from the artist to see a togetherness that allows each member of any society, individually or in groups, to perceive themselves in a context of mutualism, a togetherness that develops from one to another. 2 Tarun Nagesh Endnotes 1 I Made Djirna, Kita artist statement, trans. Army, May 2021. 2 Djirna. I Made Djirna Born 1957, Kedewatan, Indonesia Lives and works in Kedewatan