As one of the female artists of the 1990s, Rotua Magdalena Pardede started to gain recognition within the arts circle after she exhibit her works in several exhibition in Indonesia and abroad. The artist has sharp eyes for popular imagery, local values, and daily objects; and was first known as a graphic artist. In 1994, Magdalena worked as a designer in a weekly magazine. Lately, Magdalena had come to believe that graphic arts was not the only way that would be able to accommodate her ideas and represent her creative processes. "I don't want to say things I don't understand; I'd rather convey my understandings and questions on life that I myself still cannot grasp," explained Magdalena once. She believes that art should not be placed within the borders of "fine arts"--neither does it consist merely of painting and sculpture. Magdalena understands art as physical symptoms captured by the eyes, seen in the context of the global visual culture. Easy and abundant imagery can be enjoyed freely on the street, on the sidewalk, in the office, in shopping malls, at the movies, or at the street-side stalls. These visual images are around us in categories beyond the artistic classifications that might once been constructed in our minds. In such abundant imagery, Magdalena hides and is swept along--once in a while, however, she re-emerges and tries to keep her distance from the visual cacophony to be able to record and reproduce it.

Magdalena is forever questioning about the images and their context. She continually wonders about the sites where the industry produces or reproduces images. For Magdalena, therefore, art is more than just personal. When artists are at work, their minds have first become the meeting points of the world of imagery, and the place where various social aspects collude.

Magdalena has also turned Indonesia's troubled conditions into a personal matter, as a means to understand herself better. In 1997, her work Baju Baru Sang Raja (The Emperor's New Dress), showcased in the exhibition titled Slot in the Box, talked about small and trivial matters. Also talking about such small ideas was her work Seni Rupa Buku (Book Visual Art), showcased in her solo exhibition, Narasi Kecil (Small Narration). This particular work was a call for a vigilance not to be trapped by social-political pamphlets; and at the same time an invitation to pay special attention to simple matters hidden behind the euphoric social and political cacophony. Magdalena's Book Visual Art not only displayed her drawings and graphic prints, but also wild textual scribbling. In this work, she was referring to the adage that the individual's freedom of imagination was indeed infinite.

Aminudin TH Siregar

Born on September 2, 1971 in Jakarta.
Studied at Jakarta Institute of The Arts (IKJ), Jakarta (BFA; 1997).

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
1999 "Art Shop", Cemeti Gallery, Yogyakarta.

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
1998 Group Exhibition, Pandor.
2002 "Explorations of Medium and Ideas", Bentara Budaya Art Centre, Jakarta.
2003 "Strugle and Creation" in conjunction with Jak Art, Erasmus Huis, Jakarta.

back to top