The Sweet and Sour Story of Sugar

(scroll down, for english version..)

ruangrupa dan Noorderlicht mempersembahkan:

“THE SWEET AND SOUR STORY OF SUGAR”
(download: *.pdf – siaran pers “THE SWEET AND SOUR STORY OF SUGAR” – versi bahasa Indonesia)

Pameran dari sebuah proyek kolaborasi antara ruangrupa dan Noorderlicht:

(download: e-flyer_01 / e-flyer_02)

 

Galeri Seni Kunstkring

23 November – 14 Desember 2012
Jl. Teuku Umar No.1
Menteng, Jakarta Pusat
T: +62 21 3900899
http://www.kunstkring-jakarta.com

map:

google maps:
maps.google.com/Galeri Seni Kunstkring

 


Pameran
“Sugar Town, Inc.”

Pembukaan:
Jumat, 23 November 2012
19.00 WIB

Dengan pertunjukkan musik oleh:
Keroncong Tugu Cafrinho

Pameran:
23 November – 14 Desember 2012
Senin – Jumat (10.00 – 17.00 WIB)
Sabtu – Minggu (11.00 – 17.00 WIB)

Kurator: ruangrupa
Berkolaborasi dengan beberapa seniman Jakarta:
Aprilia Apsari, Henry Foundation, Marishka Soekarna, M.G. Pringgotono, oomleo, Rio Farabi, Saleh Husein

Menampilkan karya dari lokakarya video:
“Sugar Fiction”
Peserta lokakarya:
Ajeng Nurul Aini, Dian Komala, Jayu Julie, Mira Febri Mellya, Nastasha Abigail Koetin, Raslena


Diskusi
“Sugar Stories in Indonesia”

Minggu, 2 Desember 2012
14.00 WIB

Pembicara:
Andi Achdian (sejarawan dan editor Majalah Loka)
Martin Suryajaya (penulis filsafat dan editor www.indoprogress.com)
Jompet Kuswidananto (seniman)

Moderator:
Leonhard Bartolomeus (penulis dan peneliti seni rupa)


*Diskusi akan berlangsung dalam Bahasa Indonesia dan Inggris
*Program pameran dan diskusi terbuka untuk umum, tidak dipungut bayaran.

Info lebih lanjut: www.ruangrupa.org | twitter: @ruangrupa | group facebook: ruangrupa

Pengantar Proyek
THE SWEET AND SOUR STORY OF SUGAR

Melalui pameran koleksi arsip foto dan karya seri fotografi dalam proyek berjudul The Sweet and Sour Story of Sugar ini, sejarah masa kolonial di Indonesia diceritakan kembali. Proyek ini dibuat oleh Noorderlicht, sebuah institusi fotografi terkemuka dari Belanda. Sebagai institusi fotografi, Noorderlicht memiliki reputasi sebagai salah satu organisasi yang menaruh kepercayaan terhadap pentingnya kekuatan fotografi dalam kemampuannya merefleksikan kenyataan sosial dan mengkomunikasikan pemikiran kritis pada banyak lapisan masyarakat.

The Sweet and Sour Story of Sugar adalah proyek investigasi fotografi yang membandingkan proses globalisasi yang terjadi melalui komodifikasi gula. Ini cerita tentang gula yang terjadi di empat negara berbeda yaitu Belanda, Brasil, Indonesia, dan Suriname. Di masa lalu, keempat negara itu saling terkait dengan kolonialisme, dengan Belanda sebagai pelabuhan utama dari perdagangan gula tersebut. Hasil penelitian proyek ini adalah ratusan arsip foto pada abad 19 dan 20 dari empat negara tersebut, yang kemudian dibandingkan dengan seri fotografi karya enam fotografer pilihan Noorderlicht, yang memotret kondisi industri gula di empat negara tersebut pada awal dekade kedua abad 21. Enam fotografer itu adalah Tomasz Tomaszewski (Polandia), Alejandro Chaskielberg (Argentina), Ed Kashi (Amerika Serikat), Francesco Zizola (Italia), James Whitlow Delano (Amerika Serikat/Jepang), dan Carl de Keyzer (Belgia). Dari karya-karya fotonya, setiap fotografer menghasilkan cerita tersendiri dari Brasil, Suriname, Indonesia, dan Belanda, yang terhubungkan secara tematis pada arsip-arsip kolonial. Proyek investigasi fotografi ini menampilkan suatu cerita kompleks empat abad globalisasi yang dilihat dari gula sebagai produk sehari-hari.

Hasil proyek tersebut kemudian dilanjutkan untuk diolah kembali menjadi bentuk presentasi yang baru, dalam suatu kolaborasi internasional bersama sejumlah institusi seni di Brasil, Suriname, dan Indonesia. Kolaborasi dilakukan Noorderlicht dengan WZM-Platforma Brasil Holanda di Sao Paolo, Brasil; dan dengan Tembe Art Studio di Paramaribo, Suriname. Di Indonesia, Noorderlicht bekerjasama dengan ruangrupa di Jakarta, dan Langgeng Art Foundation di Yogyakarta. Arsip-arsip foto tersebut diolah kembali menjadi suatu cerita dan pembahasan baru, dalam bentuk pameran, penerbitan, kuliah umum, diskusi, lokakarya, dan proyek seni.

Sebagai kurator dan penyelenggara proyek The Sweet and Sour Story of Sugar di Jakarta, ruangrupa membuat proyek seni yang dipresentasikan dalam bentuk program pameran, yang dilengkapi dengan program lokakarya video dan diskusi publik. Pada program pameran, ruangrupa mempresentasikan proyek ini dengan mengutamakan pendekatan lokal yang khas, intim, dan personal. Arsip-arsip foto diolah ke dalam berbagai kemasan produk konsumsi dan cenderamata yang berhubungan dengan gula, dan dipresentasikan di ruang galeri dalam wujud barang-barang dagangan di suatu toko kelontong dan kedai kopi bernama Sugar Town, Inc. Lokakarya video menggubah arsip fotografi ke dalam karya video dan film dengan berbagai pendekatan, dilihat dari sudut pandang seniman muda. Sementara program diskusi membahas hubungan gula dengan nasionalisme di Indonesia dan kaitannya dengan problem nasionalisme di era globalisasi, perburuhan, dan sikap pekerja seni terhadapnya.

Seluruh rangkaian proyek berbasis fotografi ini hendak menunjukkan bahwa gula sesungguhnya menyimpan sejarah yang panjang dan rumit dalam konteks globalisasi yang terus berlangsung. Di dalam setiap butir gula yang kita konsumsi sehari-hari, tersimpan sejuta cerita, yang dapat terus-menerus dimaknai.

PROGRAM

Pameran
SUGAR TOWN, Inc.

Sugar Town, Inc. adalah sebuah pameran hasil proyek seni kolaborasi ruangrupa dengan sejumlah seniman di Jakarta, yang merupakan bagian dari proyek fotografi The Sweet and Sour Story of Sugar. Ruangrupa mengolah kembali arsip dan karya foto mengenai sejarah industri dan komodifikasi gula selama empat abad di empat negara yang berbeda, dengan pendekatan lokal yang khas, intim, dan personal.

Arsip-arsip foto yang berkisah tentang dinamika industri gula pada zaman kolonial dan masa kini tersebut dipresentasikan dalam sebuah toko kelontong (kiosk) dan kedai kopi. Dipajang di jajaran display produk toko, bercampur dengan seri ilustrasi yang dibuat dengan mengambil inspirasi dari arsip-arsip foto tersebut dan diaplikasikan pada berbagai produk sehari-hari, seperti gelas, cangkir, piring, kaos, tas, maupun kartu pos. Sebagian produk dijual, sebagian dibagikan secara gratis kepada pengunjung pameran.

Foto-foto yang dipilih oleh ruangrupa fokus pada arsip yang merepresentasikan isu-isu yang dekat dengan permasalahan yang terjadi di Indonesia hingga kini, yaitu tanah dan sumber daya alam, teknologi dan ilmu pengetahuan, sumber daya manusia, industri dan moda transportasi dalam perdagangan, mobilisasi tenaga kerja manusia dan hubungannya dengan migrasi global, warisan budaya, dan pola konsumsi masyarakat.

Selain itu, tim riset ruangrupa mengumpulkan data-data tentang industri gula dan segala hal yang berhubungan dengan komodifikasi gula, juga cerita tentang gula dari tanah air. Data-data ini didapat dari berbagai sumber arsip, termasuk kliping koran, lagu-lagu, film, video, puisi, blog, dan beragam produk yang mengandung unsur gula di dalamnya. Arsip-arsip foto beserta kumpulan data yang ditemukan oleh tim riset ruangrupa ini menjadi tambahan informasi dan basis inspirasi bagi seniman-seniman yang dilibatkan dalam proyek seni ini.

Seri ilustrasi dan mural berbasis foto arsip adalah karya dari Aprilia Apsari dan Saleh Husein. Seri ilustrasi ini, beserta data hasil riset yang dikumpulkan oleh tim riset ruangrupa, kemudian diaplikasikan ke dalam berbagai produk cenderamata dan memorabilia yang dirancang oleh Rio Farabi. Sementara untuk memberi identitas pada toko kelontong, kami mengundang Henry Foundation untuk merancang logo serta berbagai variasi aplikasinya pada berbagai produk. Selain karya ilustrasi dalam kemasan produk, terdapat pula karya ilustrasi yang digubah ke dalam format audio visual, dan ditampilkan sebagai karya video. Seniman Marishka Soekarna mengolah persoalan gula ke dalam kehidupan sehari-harinya dalam sebuah ilustrasi, yang diolah menjadi karya video animasi. Karya-karya video lainnya, adalah karya hasil lokakarya video yang dikelola oleh Mahardika Yudha. Koordinator divisi Pengembangan Seni Video di ruangrupa ini mengundang enam seniman muda untuk mengolah arsip foto kolonial menjadi karya video maupun film. Lokakarya diharapkan dapat menghasilkan berbagai perspektif baru yang akan memperkaya pemaknaan atas arsip-arsip foto kolonial tersebut.

Sementara, desain toko kelontong, kedai kopi, dan tata letak ruang dalam pameran ini, merupakan buah rancangan seniman M.G. Pringgotono.

Dengan menawarkan pengalaman sehari-hari sebagai bentuk presentasi pameran, layaknya berbelanja di toko dan nongkrong di kedai kopi, memori kolektif kita tentang bagaimana gula selama ini diproduksi dan dikonsumsi—baik dalam konteks lokal maupun global—dapat dimunculkan kembali secara halus. Dengan ringan, akrab, dan hangat, segala narasi berikut informasi dan pengetahuan yang terekam dalam karya-karya fotografi yang bersifat dokumentatif ini didistribusikan kepada publik seperti melodi lagu yang terngiang-ngiang di kepala atau kabar yang dibisikkan di telinga, hingga tak mudah dilupakan.

 

Lokakarya Video
SUGAR FICTION

Lokakarya video “Sugar Fiction” menjadi salah satu bagian dari proyek seni berbasis fotografi sejarah “The Sweet and Sour Story of Sugar”. Lokakarya ini mencoba menerjemahkan atau men-transcoding bentuk dari arsip fotografi pada “gambar bergerak” (moving images). Bagaimana isu sosial-politik; kolonial, pascakolonial, modernisasi, dan teknologi, yang erat kaitannya dengan fotografi pabrik gula ‘dimainkan’, ‘direduksi’, atau bahkan ‘dihilangkan’ sama sekali makna asalinya menjadi sebuah pemaknaan baru dari sudut pandang generasi muda dalam melihat rekaman sejarah yang ‘bergerak’.

Lokakarya ini mengundang enam seniman muda yang lahir sekitar 25 tahun lalu. Mereka tinggal dan bekerja di Jakarta, dan jauh dari memori kolonial pabrik gula yang berada di hampir seluruh pulau Jawa bagian tengah dan timur. Para seniman muda itu memiliki berbagai latar belakang pendidikan seperti jurnalistik, film, dan akuntansi, namun semua partisipan ini pernah membuat atau setidaknya melakukan kerja-kerja seni baik individu ataupun kolaborasi yang bersinggungan dengan gambar bergerak. Mereka membuat karya video dan film berbasis fiksi-naratif, video musik, investigasi, dokumenter, maupun performans.

 

Diskusi
SUGAR STORIES IN INDONESIA

Produksi gula secara massal di Indonesia pada era penjajahan Belanda memulai babak barunya ketika program Tanam Paksa mulai diberlakukan pada 1830. Selama kurun waktu itu, gula merupakan bahan ekspor terbesar dari Jawa bagi pasar dunia. Karenanya pula, kisah yang melingkupinya sangat besar, mulai dari kisah kemiskinan petani sampai kisah yang berurusan dengan nasionalisme. Kisah gula di Indonesia terus berlanjut sampai saat ini, yang tidak lagi berkaitan dengan penjajahan atau nasionalisme, namun beralih pada persoalan perburuhan dan budaya masyarakat di mana pabrik gula beroperasi.

Diskusi ini akan membahas hubungan gula dengan nasionalisme di Indonesia dan kaitannya dengan problem nasionalisme di era globalisasi, perburuhan, dan sikap pekerja seni terhadapnya.

 

 

THE SWEET AND SOUR STORY OF SUGAR

Proyek di Indonesia didanai dan didukung oleh:
The Kingdom of The Netherlands
Mondriaan Foundation
SNS REAAL Fonds
Arts Collaboratory
Noorderlicht
ruangrupa
Langgeng Art Foundation

 

ruangrupa mengucapkan terimakasih atas kerjasama dan dukungan:

Noorderlicht
Wim Melis, Marieke van der Velden, Sjors Swiersta

The Netherlands Embassy, Jakarta
Ton van Zeeland, Dorine Wytema, Shaula Supit

Langgeng Art Foundation
Deddy Irianto, Ignatia Nilu

Galeri Seni Kunstkring
Florine Limasnax, Annette Anhar, Emir Hakim, Vidhyasuri Utami

Alexander Supartono

MES 56 collective

Cuba Tees
Pican, Awwe, Manda, Rico

 

===
(english version)

ruangrupa and Noorderlicht presents:

“THE SWEET AND SOUR STORY OF SUGAR”
(download: *.pdf – press release “THE SWEET AND SOUR STORY OF SUGAR” – english version)

Exhibition of a collaborative project between ruangrupa and Noorderlicht:

(download: e-flyer_01 / e-flyer_02)

 

Galeri Seni Kunstkring

23 November – 14 Desember 2012
Jl. Teuku Umar No.1
Menteng, Jakarta Pusat
T: +62 21 3900899
http://www.kunstkring-jakarta.com

map:

google maps:
maps.google.com/Galeri Seni Kunstkring

 


Exhibition
“Sugar Town, Inc.”

Opening:
Friday, 23 November 2012
7 PM

With musical performance by:
Keroncong Tugu Cafrinho

Exhibition:
23 November – 14 Desember 2012
Monday – Friday (10 AM – 5 PM)
Saturday – Sunday (11 AM – 5 PM)

Curator: ruangrupa
In collaboration with several Jakarta based artists:
Aprilia Apsari, Henry Foundation, Marishka Soekarna, M.G. Pringgotono, oomleo, Rio Farabi, Saleh Husein

Featuring works from the video workshop:
“Sugar Fiction”
Workshop participants:
Ajeng Nurul Aini, Dian Komala, Jayu Julie, Mira Febri Mellya, Nastasha Abigail Koetin, Raslena


Discussion
“Sugar Stories in Indonesia”

Sunday, 2 December 2012
2 PM

Speakers:
Andi Achdian (historian and editor of Loka Magazine)
Martin Suryajaya (author on philosophy and editor indoprogress.com)
Jompet Kuswidananto (artist)

Moderator:
Leonhard Bartolomeus (author and art researcher)


*The discussion will be held in Bahasa Indonesia and English
*The exhibition and the discussion programs are open to public, free admission

For more details: www.ruangrupa.org | twitter: @ruangrupa | group facebook: ruangrupa

 

Project Introduction
THE SWEET AND SOUR STORY OF SUGAR

By means of exhibiting the collected archive of photographs and series of photography works for The Sweet and Sour Story of Sugar project, history of the colonial period in Indonesia is recapitulated. Noorderlicht, a leading institution of photography in The Netherlands, created the project. As a photography institute, Noorderlicht has a reputation as one of the organizations that has placed their trust in the significance of the power of photography in its ability to reflect the social actuality and to communicate critical thoughts on various levels of society.

The Sweet and Sour Story of Sugar is a photography investigation project, comparing the globalization process that occurs as a result of the commodification of sugar, since the beginning of the sugar industry constructions in four different countries, namely The Netherlands, Brazil, Indonesia, and Suriname. In former times, these mentioned countries were connected by colonialism, with The Netherlands as the main port in sugar trade. The outcome of this project are hundreds archives of photos on the 19th and 20th centuries of the four countries, which is then compared with series of photography works by six Noorderlicht chosen photographers, who photograph conditions of sugar industries within the four countries mentioned above during the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century. The six photographers are: Tomasz Tomaszewski (Poland), Alejandro Chaskielberg (Argentina), Ed Kashi (USA), Francesco Zizola (Italy), James Whitlow Delano (USA/Japan), and Carl de Keyzer (Belgium). Each photographer depicts his own storyline from the countries they are from, for their photography works, which are thematically linked with the colonial archives. This investigative photography project reveals a complex tale of four centuries of globalization witnessed by sugar as an everyday product.

Results of this project are then preceded to be recycled into various forms of presentation, in an international collaboration with a number of art institutions in Brazil, Suriname, and Indonesia. In Brazil, the collaboration is done with WZM-Platforma Brasil Holanda in Sao Paolo; and in Suriname, the Tembe Art Studio in Paramaribo. In Indonesia, Noorderlicht collaborates with ruangrupa in Jakarta, and Langgeng Art Foundation in Yogyakarta. The photo archives are then reutilized as a new portrayal and debate, as an exhibition, publishing, public lectures, discussions, workshops, and art projects.

As curator and organizer of the project The Sweet and Sour Story of Sugar in Jakarta, ruangrupa develops an art project that is presented in a form of an exhibition program, complete with a video workshop program and an open discussion. For the exhibition program, the presentation from ruangrupa is emphasized on typical local approach, intimate and personal. The archives of photos is processed into a variety of consumer packaged products and souvenirs related to sugar, presented in the gallery space as merchandise in a grocery store and coffee shop called Sugar Town, Inc. The video workshop transforms the photography archives into works of videos and films in various methodologies, from the perspectives of each young artist involved. Meanwhile, the discussion program will examine the link between sugar with the nationalist movement in Indonesia, and its connection with the problems of nationalism in the globalisation era, of workforce, as well as the approach of artists regarding the issue.

This entire sequence of photography-based project wishes to show that there is actually a vast history that is long and intricate within the context of the on-going globalization, concealed behind the existence of sugar. Inside every particle of sugar we consume each day, millions of interpretational stories are kept hidden.

PROGRAM

Exhibition
SUGAR TOWN, Inc.

Sugar Town, Inc. is a collaborative art project by ruangrupa with a number of young Jakarta-based artists, which is part of the photography project entitled The Sweet and Sour Story of Sugar. ruangrupa reworked the archives and photographs of the history of sugar industries and its four centuries commodification in four different countries, emphasized with typical local approach, intimate and personal.

The photo archives about the dynamics of the sugar industry in the colonial era and the present are presented in a grocery store (kiosk) and coffee shop. They are displayed as products at the store, mixed with series of illustrations inspired by the photo archives and applied to a variety of everyday products, such as cups, mugs, plates, shirts, bags, and postcards. Most products are sold, but some are distributed for free to visitors of the exhibition.

The photos selected by ruangrupa are focused on archives that represent the issues close to the problems happening in Indonesia until now; namely land and natural resources, science and technology, human resources, industrial and transportation in commerce, mobilization of human labour and its relation to global migration, cultural heritage, and patterns of people’s consumption.

In addition, the research team of ruangrupa collects data on the sugar industry and all things associated with the commodification of sugar, also the stories of sugar from the homeland. These data were obtained from a variety of archival sources, including newspaper clippings, songs, movies, videos, poems, blogs, and a variety of products that contain elements of sugar in it. The photo archives with the data set found by the research team of ruangrupa are additional information and the inspiration grounds for the artists involved in this art project.

Series of illustrations and murals based on the photo archives is the works of Aprilia Apsari and Saleh Husein. This series of illustrations, along with data collected by the ruangrupa research team, are then applied to a variety of souvenirs and memorabilia products designed by Rio Farabi. Meanwhile, to give identity to the grocery store, we invite Henry Foundation to design the logo as well as a variety of applications on various products. In addition to the works of illustrations in the form of products, there are also illustrations composed in audio-visual format, and displayed as a video work. The artist Marishka Soekarna cultivates sugar issues into her daily life as an illustration, which is then processed into animated video work. The other video works are the results of the video workshop run by Mahardika Yudha. As the coordinator of Video Art Development Division in ruangrupa, he invited six young artists to elevate the colonial photo archives into works of videos and films.

The workshop is expected to produce a variety of new perspectives that will enrich the value of the photo archives. Meanwhile, the designs of the grocery store, coffee shop, and the layout of the exhibition space, are composed by the artist M. G. Pringgotono.

By presenting the exhibition in the form of daily experiences, like shopping at the store and hanging out at the coffee shop, our collective memory of how sugar has been produced and consumed – both in local and in global contexts – can be subtly recapitulated. In an easy, familiar, and warm way, all the narrations as well as the information and knowledge captured in these documentary-styled photography works are distributed to the public like a melody of a song that rings in your head or words being whispered in the ear, they will not be easily forgotten.

 

Video Workshop
SUGAR FICTION

The “Sugar Fiction” video workshop is a part of the historical photography-based art project entitled “The Sweet and Sour Story of Sugar”. This workshop tries to interpret or to transcode the form of photography archive in to moving images. How the issues of social-politics, colonial, post-colonial, modernization, and technology; which are closely related with the photos of sugar factories; have been “manipulated”, “reduced”, or even “expunged” from its true meaning to become this new definition from the standpoint of the young generation of women, in seeing the ‘moving’ historical accounts.

This workshop invites six young artists whom were born more or less 25 years ago. They live and work in Jakarta, far from the colonial memories of sugar factories that existed in almost the whole of Java, the middle and the eastern parts. These artists have all got a variety of backgrounds in education; like in journalism, films, even bookkeeping. However, all these participants have made or at least have done works of art, individually as well as collaboratively, that are in connection with moving images. They will attempt to produce video works and narrative-fiction based films, music videos, investigations, documentaries, as well as performances.

 

Discussion
SUGAR STORIES IN INDONESIA

The mass sugar production in Indonesia during the Dutch Colonial era began its new phase when the Tanam Paksa (Cultivation) program was ordered in 1830. During that period of time, sugar was Java’s biggest export component in the world market. As a consequent, the vast amount of stories that goes with it, starting from the tales of poverty amongst the land workers, up to historical accounts that dealt with nationalism. The story of sugar in Indonesia continues until this moment, no longer associated colonialism or nationalism, but turning more to issues of workforce and people’s culture in the regions where sugar factories are running.

This program will examine the link between sugar with the nationalist movement in Indonesia, and its connection with the problem of nationalism in the globalisation era, workforce, as well as the approach of artists towards the issue.

 

 

THE SWEET AND SOUR STORY OF SUGAR

The project in Indonesia is financially supported by:
The Kingdom of The Netherlands
Mondriaan Foundation
SNS REAAL Fonds
Arts Collaboratory
Noorderlicht
ruangrupa
Langgeng Art Foundation

 

For their cooperation and support, ruangrupa express gratitude to:

Noorderlicht
Wim Melis, Marieke van der Velden, Sjors Swiersta

The Netherlands Embassy, Jakarta
Ton van Zeeland, Dorine Wytema, Shaula Supit

Langgeng Art Foundation
Deddy Irianto, Ignatia Nilu

Galeri Seni Kunstkring
Florine Limasnax, Annette Anhar, Emir Hakim, Vidhyasuri Utami

Alexander Supartono

MES 56 collective

Cuba Tees
Pican, Awwe, Manda, Rico

 

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