11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

Albert Yonathan Setyawan’s practice is a phenomenology of clay. The artist’s bodily actions when working with clay, and his deep consideration of symbols, formal repetition and symmetry, are fundamental elements of his practice. Setyawan’s works created from this process are an embodied expression of making that is an expansive exploration of materials and the human experience. Encompassing spectacular wall- and floor- based ceramic installations, Setyawan’s works focus on selected symbols which are arranged in geometric and symmetrical patterns. His repetition strategy refers to the universality of these patterns in nature and across cultures and religions. Through these repeated symbols and patterns in clay, the artist explores an intrinsically human experience, as he says: ‘I see [clay] as an extension of the human body — a repository of memories. I see it as a way to look deeper into things.’ 1 Setyawan creates each symbol by hand then repeats them using a slip-cast method. In this process, the original objects are replicated using a mould, often more than 1000 times, in a process the artist describes as ‘art labour’. For Setyawan, this repeated, labour-intensive practice is meditative, emphasises the physicality of handmade objects and is a key ethos of his practice. Spires of Undifferentiated Being 2023–24, included in the Asia Pacific Triennial, consists of two symbols — a flame and a hand — symbolic of the process of creating the work itself. The flame symbolises the process that transforms clay into a pervasive material, and, by extension, human evolution as a material process that traverses cultures and time. As a symbol for transformation, the flame also represents Setyawan’s passion and the energy he has dedicated to his work. The hand represents not only the handmade, but also the idea of labour and reproduction. On this idea, Setyawan states: Repetition changes nothing in the object but changes something in the mind which contemplates it. In this way the repeated objects appear to be all the same and nothing is changing, but each time the object is repeated in a series of repetitions, it is as new and unique as its very first [iteration]. 2 In this work — consisting of more than 3000 individual ceramic objects — the hand is not only a literal representation of the artist’s body as an instrument of making, but also a vehicle through which to engage with the world, as Setyawan explains: The hand represents the body and through this body I can have a concrete sense of my own self. And so, by repeating the process I can convince myself that I exist and can only exist in this world through this body and no other way. 3 Referring to ‘spires’ in the work’s title, while not depicting that architectural feature, gestures towards an essence contained within the symbols — of their housing a spirit that shifts between physical and metaphysical bodies. In the repetition of objects and symbols, a patterned architectural device emerges — one that is multi-directional, modular and culturally coded, like forms of the built environment we are commonly surrounded by. Spires of Undifferentiated Being presents an embodied expression of Setyawan’s consideration of clay as a universal expression of human evolution. His exploration of the cellular and metaphysical elements of this material offers an opportunity for viewers to ponder our place in time and space. JOCELYNFLYNN NOTES 1 Albert Yonathan Setyawan, ‘Mizuma conversations: Dialogue between Yvonne Wang and Alber Yonathan Setyawan’, Mizuma Gallery , 20 August 2023, <www.mizuma.sg/mmedia/ mizuma-conversations- dialogue-between- yvonne-wang-and-albert- yonathan-setyawan/>, viewed July 2024. 2 Albert Yonathan Setyawan, ‘Mizuma conversations: Albert Yonathan Setyawan’, Mizuma Gallery YouTube , 30 May 2020, <www.youtube.com/ watch?v=ZGLnzo8We5U>, viewed July 2024. 3 Albert Yonathan Setyawan, artist statement, 2024. Subliminal Mind Lattice 2022 / Terracotta / 1680 pieces: 180 x 600 x 4cm (each) / Collection: Tumurun Museum, Solo, Indonesia / Images courtesy: The artist and Mizuma Gallery, Singapore / Photographs: Sancaka Candraditya BORN 1983, BANDUNG, INDONESIA LIVES+WORKS INTOKYO, JAPAN ALBERT YONATHANSETYAWAN ARTISTS+PROJECTS ASIAPACIFICTRIENNIAL 176 — 177