SPEKTRUM, Three-Country Exhibition About Imagination
JAKARTA – Starting from Monday, 12 August 2019 an exhibition titled SPEKTRUM – Imaginarium is held at Gallery DKV Universitar Bunda Mulia, Jakarta. Presented by curator collective named Arcolabs, the event becomes the fifth edition of student-artist exhibition. Before you undermine their quality as an artist considering their current status as students, you should know that these eight student artists and five lecturers who participate on this exhibition came from three countries which are Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Those artists are Arphanuch Janphaetrak (Chulalongkorn University, Thailand), Arpharat Visedsinthop (Chulalongkorn University, Thailand), Bibi Chew (Malaysian Institute of the Arts, Malaysia), Damar Rangga Putra (Universitas Trilogi, Indonesia), Eko Hadi Prayitno (Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Indonesia), Yana Erlyana (Universitas Bunda Mulia, Indonesia), Gustafin Bayu Aji (Universitas Trilogi, Indonesia), Jonathan Christhenta (Universitas Bunda Mulia, Indonesia), Nixon Pratama (LP3I, Indonesia), Randhi Yanuar (Universitas Bunda Mulia, Indonesia), Sean Tan Jian Zhi (Malaysian Institute of the Arts, Malaysia), Siti Nurmalena (Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Indonesia), and Surachai Ekphalakorn (Chulalongkorn University, Thailand).
This year’s theme for SPEKTRUM is “Imaginarium” in which the exhibitors must translate the trigger, process, and value of imagination in their own way. Using various mediums, these artists portray their works with different influences coming from their own cultural background. The theme was chosen based on the evaluation that technological advances has made our attention span grows shorter. “We are all consumers of visual stimulants, everywhere we go there’s something that pops up in our screen. Perhaps it’s nice to sit down, reflect and create things. Looking back the beginning of this program, discussion of how we perceive imagination may have very different outcome when we are forced to embody it through artwork. But, everyone has captured their imaginations successfully in their own manners and limits,” said Evelyn Huang, one of the curator for this exhibition. Bibi Chew, a lecturer at Malaysian Institute of the Arts whose work is also on display said that SPEKTRUM enables her to continue her ongoing research in identity in a different environment.
Jeong Ok-Jeon, the director of Arcolabs also aim to show the collective’s part to bridge academic institution and Indonesia’s contemporary art scene. “I found that there is a seminal shift in the Indonesian contemporary art scene, where previously it’s been characterised as a socially engaged and participatory art now seems to concentrate on education in its core mission,” said Ok-Jeon. The exhibition will run until August 19th, 2019 and for more complete information you can access it through Arcolab’s social media. 
Documentation: Arcolabs
