UJI 'HAHAN' HANDOKO EKO SAPUTRO

Emerging from this unease, Hahan invites us to reconsider our relationship with physical reality. Within an instant-driven digital culture, sensory experience and the depth of our daily lives are gradually diminished, replaced by curated streams of information. In this condition, the authenticity of our everyday actions comes into question—are we truly experiencing, or merely following currents shaped by algorithms?

In response, Hahan’s artistic practice moves in the opposite direction: towards slowness. He develops his works through an intensive engagement with materials, alongside the social relationships embedded within the production process. Working with the Ace House collective and artisans in his studio, Hahan cultivates what he terms an ‘aesthetic kinship’, where artworks emerge not from solitary authorship, but from an evolving collaborative ecosystem. Within his visual practice, Hahan also appropriates works by figures such as Raden Saleh and Walter Spies to reveal the interconnections between power, access to knowledge, and the construction of historical narratives. This approach becomes a way of holding time—preventing days from simply slipping away, and instead filling them with processes of learning that resist instantaneity.

Through Days That Slip Away Untouched, Hahan presents his works not merely as visual objects, but as part of an ongoing artistic trajectory. Known for working across multiple mediums—from painting and sculpture to sound—he continues to develop his visual language by merging references from popular culture with formal artistic contexts. Beneath the vibrant, humorous, and often absurd imagery lies a subtle urge to reconsider what we have long taken for granted, and to rediscover depth within everyday experience.

The title Days That Slip Away Untouched points to an awareness of time that often passes without being fully lived. Through his practice, Hahan proposes ways of reconnecting with what is real—through attentiveness to history, an appreciation of ritualistic manual processes, and the cultivation of more equitable social ecosystems. Ultimately, authenticity is not understood as something fixed, but as a continuous effort to remain true to oneself amidst rapid change.

Open to the public from 2 May, the exhibition runs until 31 May 2026 at Gajah Gallery Jakarta.