Exhibited: ROH Gallery, Jakarta

ABOUT THE WORK

Throughout the history and evolution of art, the term has taken on many faces and phases; shifting in accordance with the spirit of each age. Despite this, each definition of art is arguably tethered to a common thread. That is, no matter how art is defined, it is always scrutinized against the context of our relationship with it. For the Ancient Greeks, art was synonymous with beauty, wherein a thing is seen as a great work of art if it closely resembles and reflects that which is beautiful. Wherein the concept of beauty is defined as, according to the Platonic Forms, the highest Form of Beauty; a concept that is rooted in the spiritual and the metaphysical and thus virtually unattainable through physical vestiges. But that does not mean one should not strive towards artistic paramount. For Plato and the philosophers that adhered to his ideas, art in the physical realm should work towards Beauty, because by introducing individuals to such things that reflect the different aspects of Beauty can these individuals begin to understand not only the essence of Beauty, but also the essence of what is truly and rightly Good. Eventually, Modern thinkers would begin to contemplate the role and use of art against the backdrop of the different revolutions in science and technology. But given that our definitions of art have since diversified, we’ve also seemingly shifted our approach to it; namely we are no longer concerned with finding art in the universal, but also in the local as well. Such an approach can be seen as the core of Filipino artist Rodel Tapaya’s artistic practice. As an artist, Tapaya’s works seemingly revolve around the different myths and narratives of the Philippines as well as its adjacent regions. Such stories do not only tap into the rich culture and history of the region, but also acts as a practice of discovery and reclamation of narratives that were seemingly lost given the effects of colonization and globalization. But Tapaya’s works do not only gaze upon our past, but are also deeply entrenched in the present. His works act as reminders of how our current situation is rooted in how our histories have played out. They are, in effect, works that tell particular stories about specific phenomena, but still manage to find a common thread that makes all of us human. (J.D.)