ABDI SETIAWAN

Abdi works with metal and wood, and his sculptures combine a particularly cynical representation of modern Indonesian life. He is sympathetic towards marginalised figures such as sex workers, transvestites, buskers, and becak drivers, who often appear as subjects of his works. ‘I tend to present human figures to talk about humanity’ he says, pointing out the efficiency of the figurative when it comes to expressing conflicts of thoughts with regards to the broad theme of the human condition. Generally, human characters come with a rich nimbus of supporting elements to validate and express their existence, such as outfits, make-up, gestures and poses, facial expressions, etc. All of those things exist in humans as signs and codes based on the particular role they have taken within their social context.

His early wooden sculptures from the beginning of the 2000s were partially colourized by paint. He also occasionally fitted them with real clothes and attributes. Painting the sculptures back then supported ideas, which were realized by the carving. Setiawan later developed a practice of duplicating the wooden sculptures in a resin moulding procedure. Like a virgin canvas, the plastic sculpture comes out of the mould in a light tone to be subsequently covered by a layer of paint. After a long process of sculpting the artist acts like a painter in order to realize another time what he had already envisioned during the process of carving. This double and simultaneous use of high level craftsmanship and reproduction technique reflects the very specific position Abdi’s work is taking within the discourse of contemporary sculpture.

Courtesy Gajah Gallery