Melati Suryodarmo's Durational Performance at Ikon Gallery
Melati Suryodarmo's first UK exhibition, 'Passionate Pilgrim', at Ikon Gallery features her 12-hour performance 'I'm A Ghost in my Own House', originally performed in 2012 at Bandung's Lawangwangi Creative Space. The piece involves the artist grinding charcoal into dust at a table, exploring themes of labour, identity, and dislocation after returning to Indonesia from Germany. Suryodarmo, born to meditative artist Suprapto Suryodarmo, studied under Anzu Furukawa and Marina Abramović, and performed as a 'living installation' at the 2003 Venice Biennale. She popularized performance art in Indonesia by founding the festival 'Undisclosed Territory' in 2003 and Studio Plesungan in 2012. The exhibition also includes videos of her iconic 'Exergie – Butter Dance' (2000), where she dances on butter blocks to Bugis percussion. The review highlights the symbiotic relationship between artist and audience in durational performance.
Key facts
- Melati Suryodarmo's first UK exhibition at Ikon Gallery is titled 'Passionate Pilgrim'.
- The 12-hour performance 'I'm A Ghost in my Own House' was first performed in 2012 at Lawangwangi Creative Space, Bandung.
- Suryodarmo grinds charcoal into dust using a rolling pin, testing her body's physical and mental limits.
- The performance explores themes of time, labour, identity, and feelings of dislocation after returning to Indonesia from Germany.
- Suryodarmo studied under Japanese Butoh dancer Anzu Furukawa at Braunschweig University of Art and later under Marina Abramović.
- She performed as a 'living installation' at the 2003 Venice Biennale.
- She founded the performance art festival 'Undisclosed Territory' in 2003 and Studio Plesungan in 2012.
- The exhibition also includes videos of 'Exergie – Butter Dance' (2000), where Suryodarmo dances on butter blocks to Bugis percussion.
Entities
Artists
- Melati Suryodarmo
- Suprapto Suryodarmo
- Anzu Furukawa
- Marina Abramović
- Josef Ng
- Ly Hoàng Ly
- Yoko Ono
- Avery Gordon
Institutions
- Ikon Gallery
- Lawangwangi Creative Space
- Braunschweig University of Art
- Venice Biennale
- Singapore Art Museum
- Moderna Dansteater
- Afterall
Locations
- Bandung
- Indonesia
- Braunschweig
- Germany
- Venice
- Italy
- Singapore
- Makassar
- South Sulawesi
- Sweden
Sources
- Afterall —