In this exhibition ‘Mbaka Satitik: Ritualization of From’, Hartanto will be showcasing a continuation of his previous exhibition extending his series ‘Butiran Dari’, where Hartanto honors and combines two generational methods of memory-keeping: photography and batik, the Javanese wax-resist dye technique. These works, which the artist describes as ‘studies’, investigate the shape of ‘being’, its many layers, and its constitution. Pixelated image-particles, representative of Hartanto’s memories and belongings, are imprinted on cloth and waxed over, before the cloth is then dipped into dye.
In John Hardy’s artist residency, Hartanto unveils this ritualization of the batik process as his sacred act of memorializing his ‘froms’. This practice he calls ’Mbaka Satitik’ —‘until/from one point to another’, as every dot (titik) of batik represents a point of time, moments within a memory, “a particle of my body, of my from.” Mbaka Satitik includes four rites of passage where the transformation of the cloth symbolizes the body in metamorphosis; Nyuci (purification), Nyanting (mediation/contemplation), Nyelup (absorption), and Nglorod (sublimation). Open studio visits will be available for the public, allowing visitors to witness the alternating materials (water, beeswax, indigo dye), craft preparations, gestures, and the sacred space involved in practice. Time and dates will be announce as well invitations will be given within the following week after the opening.
Re-sacralizing batik for Hartanto is to reclaim the lost tradition of ritualizing craft and mysticizing the art of making. Hartanto’s primal experiences with the craft over the years evoke new purposes and becomings; allowing the practice - Mbatik to be a transcendental portal to his past, present, and future, a way to understand the cosmological matrix to the varying truths of his belonging. Hartanto had also invited Gustra Adnyna, an independent curator based in Bali to co-curate and contribute to the reading and analysis of the exhibition and the artist’s practice. The writing will be available in the exhibition catalog by the opening event, on 28 June 2024. ‘Mbaka Satitik: Ritualisation of From’ will run from 8 June to 31 August 2024 at John Hardy Boutique and Gallery, Seminyak, Bali. The exhibition is open for the public at the gallery every day during operating hours, 11 am to 9 pm.
Information and reservation for the Public Programme will be made available at a later date by invitation or at our Instagram page @johnhardybali
Visitor Information
Exhibition Title: Mbaka Satitik: Ritualisation of From
Exhibition Dates: 8 June - 31 August, 2024
Venue: John Hardy Boutique & Gallery – Seminyak
Jl. Petitenget, Kerobokan, Kec. Kuta
Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361
Operating Hours: 11am - 9pm
Admission Fee: Free of Charge