Gajah Gallery proudly presents Contemplating Alternatives. Turning the spotlight on Indonesian women artists at the onset of their careers, this curatorial premise frames their work through the lens of alternative paths that women artists before them have carved—and how, whether consciously or subconsciously, they are similarly beginning to plant alternatives both for themselves and for a future generation of women artists working in Indonesia, through their own distinct practices.

The exhibit then explores the unique ways these alternate perspectives and practices are present in their work: from alternate depictions of femininity and roles of women beyond domesticity; insights into the distinct traditions, philosophies, and spiritualities from which they come; expressions of nature and the familiar landscapes they inhabit, altering their relationship to their environments; ways of seeing their own abstract, interior landscapes; to ways of recalling and retelling their pasts and stories.

Ultimately, the exhibit illuminates how the search for alternatives must constantly be critiqued and sustained, taking into account the value of both continuity and change, in order to carve a more fruitful, inclusive, and hopeful future for women artists in Indonesia.

Press release courtesy Gajah Gallery.