It appears indeed to be true that to be able to see and perceive something clearly, humans need contrast and sufficient distance from the object. This appears to also be true in social or cultural domains. Often, our perceptions and intuitions become dull when we view ordinary and routine matters. The eyes of other people are sometimes needed to reintroduce and restore a sense of awe of the customary, to guide us to a deeper and more profound vision.
Mella Jaarsma, who was born in the Netherlands, has a distance in perspective of the phenomena of daily life in Indonesia. I have learned a lot from her sharp observations and diligence in capturing the tracks and whispers of life. This essay is not a scholarly article, but can be seen as notes of a friend who is in awe of the creative work of the artist, Mella Jaarsma. These are fragments of memories that have been collected over a period of time; the deposits of these impressions have been formed layer by layer from various meetings, encounters, discussions, conversations, as well as several collaborations, as an exhibition visitor, her architect, and friend.
Searching for shadows
Her interest in shadows brought her on a journey to Indonesia, which is known for its wayang. However, this meeting of cultures also brought a creative adventure that has continued. In Mella’s eyes, the daily phenomena of street vendor’s tents can be paralleled to a wayang kulit performance. Mella’s early works at that time explored light, darkness and shadows. However, the matters of ‘messages’ and ‘connecting channels’, also the ‘transfer’ that she ‘saw’ in the wayang performance and in real life, became the focus of her search and reflections.
Actually, Mella’s works are very philosophical, and even tend to be heavy, embedded with a discourse about the search for meaning. She stretches a body of shadows further inward and builds a consciousness for people to ask and then search for the meaning of life and living. The shadows sometimes are behind us and sometimes in front of us.
Her sharp observation of daily life, as well as her freedom of abstraction makes Mella’s works unique. There is a strong sense of locality, but at the same time, there is something new, modern and global. Mella does not see Indonesia in a romantic way. However, she always attempts to dive into her subject matter like a researcher, searching for the essence of universal humanity. Her ‘double’ status as a foreigner, but also a local resident gives her a mental authority to move in and out of the social, cultural, psychological, and even political domains. I learn a lot from Mella’s perspective about the possibilities of perceiving our culture loosely. Culture as a social convention and construction is not quiet and static. Tradition needs development and new energy so that it continues to flow and live, not just be praised and frozen.
Ritual
Various ritual traditions that are still practiced also appear to tease her. Reflections on the environmental crisis and the lack of appreciation of natural resources became the stimulation for new artworks. One of Mella’s early works about the ‘rituals of pouring water’ is very interesting. Local materials, such as wooden branches, wood blocks and coconuts, were arranged into a series of sculptural compositions that performed a ‘modern ritual’ of reviving an appreciation for the importance of water. This is a very ancient impression, however at the same time, a contextual universal message.
This ‘anthropological’ perspective is one of the unique traits of Mella’s works. Research combined with a sharp intuition gives Mella’s work an inner value that is very reflective, almost spiritual.
When asked about her intentions in regards to her works, however, Mella doesn’t state a desire to express something moralistic or prophetic. Perhaps it is because of her modesty. Her art works are more of an invitation for humans to think and to contemplate the nature of their humanity.
Rational
Formerly, I thought that the creative process was a work of feelings. Apparently, this is not always so. I once peeked into Mella’s studio. There were thick books about the system and workings of the human nervous system, heavy reference books that perhaps were more suited for medical students. It appeared that she was studying about the human nervous system, in relationship to hearing and sight. As I remember, this was when she was pregnant, her first experience in becoming a mother who would bring a human into this world.
Through the language of art, Mella throws herself into her artwork. And, of course, the language of biology or science about nerves is different from the language of Mella’s authentic art. The ‘Sound of Breath’ series, for example, is full of expressions about the processes of communication amongst humans.
Once, in her home, she pointed out a small painting with a red background, with an amorphous silver shape like a cross-section of the brain, surrounded with dynamic, wild, spontaneous black marks and with a carpenter’s ruler adhered to the bottom, folded in a zig-zag! This was her reflection and explanation about the matter of distance and the process of seeing. She invites us to think about the relative-ness of distance and about what we really see or measure.
Then, she said: “It seems that this is suitable for you, the architect. Take it, okay?”
Of course, I couldn’t say anything except “yes” and “thank you”. This deeply impressed me. I accepted the painting as an invitation to ruminate about architecture, that it involves something physical and measured, but there is also an aspect of feeling or soul that is not completely apparent. These two realities are always interwoven in ourselves.
Freedom and playful creativity
Observing Mella’s works, I am struck how she is not tied to materials or style. She has transcended the boundaries and limitations of media. She can use anything. And this is sometimes surprising.
Look at, for example, when she used buffalo horns or animal skins. Objects that were usually known as craft materials suddenly gained a new status as art objects in very different forms. There is a twisted double meaning, the borders of traditions breached, long-standing conventions fade, but also the contents of a ‘social political’ message stated. Mella invites us to think.
There is another work that I think is interesting because of its anthropological content, while appearing to be very simple. It is about the kitchen, entitled ‘Between Squatting and Standing’, 1999. The kitchen is the area in our culture that is considered to be the ‘back’, or left, and usually hidden. Remember the saying, ‘kitchen secrets’, for example. This is related to the matter of existence. It can be very symbolic.
Mella made photo documentation of many neighbourhood kitchens in the area where she lives. Here, we see that she turned the kitchen, something that we ‘usually’ perceive to be an everyday, private matter, into public discourse based on its diversity. Apparently, the preparation of food can be done in a variety of ways. Mella very astutely illustrates that the activity of cooking varies in both position and equipment. There are those who do it while squatting on the ground, using a simple clay stove with burning wood, branches, or a charcoal burner, while there are those who cook while standing at a kerosene burner or gas stove. This is a clear commentary on the possibilities of harmonious living in the midst of diversity or differences. She makes a real-life example of the heterogeneity of the Ngadinegaran neighbourhood in the formation of togetherness. The invitation of this reflection is based on social conflicts that later are manifested in issues of indigenous and non-indigenous elements of the community. It is as if togetherness can only be manifested in similarities or uniformities. She rejects this idea through the language of art.
Tough
Relishing Mella’s works is not always easy. Sometimes she invites us to trace and follow the margins of areas that we tend to cover up or hide as part of our cultural conventions. Mella, however, is not bound to them. This makes us inhale and think again.
Her work for the Biennale Yogya IX, entitled ‘My Name is Michella Jarawiri’, is extraordinary. Unfortunately, it did not attract much attention. I think this work was monumental. It addressed a very intricate and complex political issue with a language of art that was not vulgar and banal. It was very refined, but intense, in guiding us into a direct confrontation of our human identity.
Several of her more recent works also exhibit this same kind of toughness. It reveals a maturing of her spirit and increasing sharpness of her observation. In the midst of the tumult and heat of the art market, Mella continues to explore her own path by herself. Perhaps it is a lonely journey, but many people are waiting for her, to learn how to see and borrow the eyes of her soul, to think and awaken in following her footsteps and tracing the narrow path of this life.
Eko Prawoto