ISA Art & Design proudly presents “Antumbra”, a joint exhibition of Bandu Darmawan and Condro Priyoaji, two artists who tackle the visuals of shadow and light.
The exhibition title “Antumbra” is derived from a combination of 2 Latin words, “Ante” and “Umbra”: “Ante” meaning “before” and “umbra” refers to the darkest part of a shadow.
In research about the relationship between the sun and the earth, there are many references to shadows. An antumbra is not a true shadow; the antumbra is the lighter part of a shadow that forms at a certain distance from the object casting the shadow. The antumbra region in the galaxy is the area of a shadow responsible for one type of eclipse, namely the annular solar eclipse.[1]
The works by two artists illustrate the phenomenon of shadows and motion, and how to record and present them through art. Condro and Bandu present spatial scenarios of producing their works through the practice or imagination, by using the theories of physics of what is caught by the eye in the form of shadows and light or shadows and motion. The eye-catching perception of this trail presents the audience with a spatial scenario.
Bandu Darmawan was born in Cilacap and completed his intermediate art education at Bandung Institute of Technology. Bandu presents 8 works in this exhibition, experimenting with various mediums, from video, light, to sound and 3-D imaging.
Bandu believes that each message in his art requires a different medium for its delivery. According to him, harnessing technology as a medium can transport us for a moment outside the realm of reality. Humans have suddenly become geeks of knowledge, nomads like never before in the world of reality and alternative reality, namely the metaverse. Technology has expanded the human central nervous system in a global embrace, obliterating time and space[2].
In Bandu's work "Mengirim Kerling", there is a letter box and a video of the human eye in the hole of the letter box. The first public mailbox approved by the United States Postal Service was patented on March 9, 1858, by Albert Potts.[3] In his time, the mailbox made it easier for someone to send letters and communicate with people. But today, the mailbox has become an abandoned object with the advent of the internet, and people can communicate through mobile phones, email, and direct messaging, rendering the mailbox obsolete. Bandu presents a human figure that seems to be in a mailbox by using a screen with video eyes. Because now, it's not just a vehicle for a letter; even someone's presence can be felt, seen, and heard in Bandu’s "mailbox".
We are rapidly approaching the final phase of human extension—the simulation of human consciousness—whereby the creative process of knowing will be collectively and proportionally extended throughout society. The human brain, supported by the substance dopamine, is closely related to the curious state of mind. The limitations of human senses trigger the nature of human curiosity as well as the limited ability to see beyond solid objects.
In "Detak Detik", Bandu presents his view of an X-ray of the human chest. Shadow imaging in the form of the X-ray process was discovered in 1895 and since the late 19th century has evolved to multiple use[4]s. In this case, Bandu’s visual X-ray of the human chest illustrates his concept of the information phenomenon. With X-ray technology, humans can see through solid objects, and information gathering is elevated on multiple levels. But in his artwork, Bandu has used artificial Intelligence to create z-rays from a simple sentence written by man in his "prescription poetry". Bandu also incorporates the mechanical movement of a watch as the "heart". He hypothesizes that human views and appreciation have changed due to the impact of modern technological civilization. The speed at which humans can receive information makes the human condition in this era feel that their time is dashing. Bandu shows the passage of time through a video of the watch mechanism on the heart, where the heart is part of the human time calculation.
Modern technology has changed the rhythm of life. Time is moving faster and faster, and every moment is just an opportunity to be passed in a fast-moving future. The increasing rhythm of life seems to have made time to be lived as a mere mathematical measure[5]. Written on the RX paper in this work is a poem written by Kamila Widyanto.
In "Di Luar Deras, di Dalam Juga Terdengar", there is a door object that has a projection of a human shadow with a gesture of wanting to look outside the door. This shadow is from a video made by Bandu with sound coming from the door object using an audio transducer mechanism that converts the energy of the audio signal into mechanical energy. In these works, there are gestures of people trying to look towards the door. The door here symbolizes objects that are a transition to space.
In this work, Bandu makes his figure the image; there is dissatisfaction with the mechanism of the mirror showing an inverted image or projection that is not real. Bandu tried to see his figure from the outside. This projection is meant to suggest a form of self-projection, i.e., to see oneself through the external lens behind the door. An identity that is visible to the audience. The process of internal and external observation, or vice versa, has distance and speed, as well as sound and light that resemble lightning in this work.
In "Apa Perbuatannya", "Siapa Pelakunya", identity and action become a question for Bandu. Can these two things be separated? With the rapid flow of information, subject and predicate are inseparable, making identity a commodity and uniformity. With the high speed of information, humans are dealing with abstract forces. This work features two separate canvases and a three-dimensional hand and kinetic face object on the back of the canvas. This work releases the integrity of the face and hands in two similar planes. Bandu tries to see the symbol of "identity" through the visual of the face protruding on canvas and the hands as "action".
Nicholas Berdyaec (1874-1948) considered the occurrence of mass tendencies and outbreaks of mental contagion as a result of technological advances. Mental contagion affects uniformity and the uniformity of one's identity and actions[6]. As the acceleration of this information forms, Bandu feels the uniformity of identity or action to be a point of refuge or a foothold for humans. The speed with which information brings universal truth (truth based on general agreement) is very vulnerable and makes the information highly distorted.
Bandu responds to distorted information by visualizing an iron plate on the wall with a beam of light, which produces a shadow from the projected light that distorts the shape of the plate itself. The distortion plate forms two figures with the gesture of standing on the plate; on the other hand, there is a figure with the gesture of taking shelter under an umbrella.
In "Meracik Fakta, Meneguk Fana", Bandu presents a shadow projection of a human figure stirring water in a glass, as well as two glasses with a spoon that rotates with a motor on a pedestal; on the glass, there are projections of red and blue light. Inspired by the red and blue light from a common symbol in pop culture, the red and blue pill was popularized in science fiction culture in the film The Matrix (1999).
The blue pill illustrates the continuity of the current state of life, namely, living life without knowing its meaning or running from the truth to remain as it is. Morpheus, the main character in the film, describes it as waking up in bed with no regard for "destiny" or such deep ideas. The red pill is the solution to knowing the true truth in life. Morpheus describes it as proceeding down the "rabbit hole" or, in other words, continuing to learn about the lies set in the world to break them and gain freedom.
The figure in this projection performs a stirring motion or mixes the two glasses and melts. Are these two options still relevant today? In its existence, humans are constantly faced with the need to make choices, and every decision always means eliminating other options. Even refusing to make a choice is a choice. With the acceleration of technology and information, humans are thrown into existence beyond their own choice. Reality and virtual become biased with the acceleration of knowledge and the distortion of continuously consumed information.
Bandu’s work plays with many elements of technology to reference and question our human existence through the results of history, philosophy, and the rapid advances of technology. He is keen to explore cross-discipline collaborations, experimenting with the limits and boundaries of being an artist.
Born in Jember, Condro Priyoaji, with a background in Painting Education at the Bandung Institute of Technology, started his artistic journey in high school with graffiti and mural media. In 2014, he began to actively exhibit his two-dimensional works. His habit of graffiti and murals has greatly influenced his perspective. Until now, Condro sees sights that attract attention as the composition of color pigments and space.
Until 2022, his interest in the color phenomenon has become a common thread in the series of works he has worked on. Condro presents the visual of shadows accompanied by soft strokes and gradations using brushes and airbrushes to produce layers of transparency. In his previous works, he captured traces and memories in the form of shadows to present spatial scenarios and practiced physics and geometry imaginatively to be able to represent two dimensions in a spatial context.
Sensitivity to shadows has been around for centuries. From the time of antiquity in cave paintings, artists have incorporated the use of shadow. Plato, an ancient Greek scholar, published a book, "The Allegory of the Cave". In that book, he envisioned humans chained to a blank wall, and only experiencing life as the shadows passed over the wall. Through this, these people were able to recognize figures through the shadows, but it wasn’t the complete reality. Only the enlightened or educated would recognize that the shadows on the wall are not the direct source of the images. But for today, is the shadow an important entity? Shadows are not objects. Shadows are a two-dimensional phenomenon that we cannot grasp tactically.[7]
In terms of recording tracks and capturing memories from the shadows, Condro presents a pictorial projection in his paintings. By presenting a visual shadow in his work, he also creates a sensation of an object ahead of the work, showing the sense of space in two-dimensional media. For Condro, shadows are recorded traces, a contrasting contrast of light that is a trace in space. In this exhibition, he presents space and time as an extension of his track record in space.
In physics, space-time is a mathematical model that combines space and time into one continuity[8]. Until the early 20th century, time was believed to be independent of motion and constantly increasing across all frames of reference. However, the experiment shows that time slows down at a higher speed than one frame of reference to another. This deceleration is called time dilation in the special theory of relativity, which is added to the theory of gravity.
In 1916, Einstein came up with the general theory of relativity. Einstein argued that space and time are inseparable entities. For Einstein, the two-dimensional plane is a three-dimensional space-time: length-width-time or space-time-flat (RWD). Three-dimensional objects for Einstein are spacetime with dimension 4: length-width-height-time or space-time-curvature. Newtonian physics states that the moon revolves around the earth on the condition that the earth stops. However, we all know that the earth doesn't stop. Therefore, Newton's theory of gravity is based on a false start. The view of falling objects visualized by Condro is not necessarily a falling obje[9]ct. It could be that Condro visualizes gravity on his spaced canvas.
In his approach to space and time, Condro presents the retinal sensation of movement and acceleration in his works, such as in the series Gravity Acceleration. Condro presents visual shadows of three kinds of balls, namely ping-pong ball, tennis ball, and soccer ball, as well as a wooden block. Condro exports shadow motion and displacement and places two, three and four-dimensional acceleration in a projective context.
The shape of a falling ball may be familiar to our eyes; the visual is usually used in foundation books that explain the theory of gravity. The artist's subconscious experienced this to start the Gravity Acceleration series. The natural shape of the ball is chosen as the object of gravity experiments because the ball has a fulcrum and center of gravity.
Condro started with observations from his experiment, dropping a ping-pong ball from two meters high, then making a shadow projection using a spotlight and he attached to a string. Through these experiments, he set the benchmark for the transition from gravitational manipulation. The realist method that Condro uses creates a 1:1 ratio to the original shadow. Presenting three types of spheres in this series, Condro shows the difference in acceleration over the difference in dimensions, which refers to the special theory of relativity.
Condro's next experiment used a rectangular wooden block as a medium, with the movement of standing upright and then falling sideways. With this, the center of gravity of a rectangular block is different from that of a sphere. The tendency of a rectangular wooden beam in a standing position to have various fulcrums, depending on its position, causes less balance.
His work has nine rectangles with different angular positions and distances. A compositional play that creates a retinal sensation of watching rectangular blocks fall. Rectangular wooden beams are familiar objects as a basic form that is used for structures such as windows, doors, tables, and others.
The history of the division of time in the world began before the end of the 19th century, when time recording had become a local phenomenon. Cities worldwide set up clock systems based on the sun's daily movement. Time is related to gravity through the rotation and revolution of the earth, moon, and sun. In "Rotation", there is a light projection on the window that produces two shadows that summarize flat space-time on a two-dimensional plane. In "Rotation", he uses the brightness of different colors in his shadows to present a still object with a light projection that shows a time difference.
Contrary to "Rotation", "Open" shows a shadow of an incomplete door, with the dominance of dark colors and gradations of dark to light colors. If we observe this, it is like opening a door from a dark room to a bright room. While Condro's "Rotation" presents still objects and the movement of light, in "Open", light stays and objects are given a style to show time on a two-dimensional plane. He also shows space transition in the form of gradation in his work.
In "Let The Wind Blow", an abstract composition can be seen, with overlapping dark-to-light color gradations. When observed, we often see these visuals during the day under a shady tree. In the process, Condro observes the shadows of the trees, paying attention to the movement of leaves that move due to the wind and clouds that change in light and dark in time. Things about space, time and motion in the works "Rotation" and "Open", Condro applies in "Let The Wind Blow", both the shadows of the leaves that move and the light that moves with time.
Back in the beginning, before space, time, gravity and other theories, humans evolved into creatures that recognized images. It is known that this began with the projection of shadows on the cave walls using human bodies produced by artificial light (fire).[10]
In the work "Hereafter", there are three shadows of figure pieces from the chest to the head, contrasting colors and different directions. One figure faces forward, and the other faces left with varying rotation angles, like the transition from seeing one space to another. Condro emphasizes the processes and movements in each work and towards other works, from the beginning of humans recognizing images to the multidisciplinary science that is presented in each image over time.
In the work "Inner Motion #1", Condro describes a figure with more movement and some body gestures of people who are looking up, such as gestures of people looking. The visuals in this work are also made more subtle by using a layering technique on light projections, resulting in the blurring of shadow lines. This work shows a human figure who keeps looking through the play of light and dark to show the space, motion, and distance of the figure from the light. Added by the dominance of dark colors, this work produces the sensation of a narrower and confined space; likewise, with the search or human curiosity that continues to move in harmony with time, which always creates changes and wants to get out of a narrow space or limitation.
In looking at the development of art that has various techniques and media, in this exhibition we try to bring together the two artists with different mediums, trying to find relevant what drives them to create. The mediums that best express their sensibility; and try to find formal, contextual, and conceptual between the diverse artworks. Finally, this exhibition hopes to hypothesize or synthesize the continuing narrative in Bandu and Condro in accordance with their shared experiments and cultural experiences.
[1] https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/antumbra-shadow.html [2] Mc Luhan, Marshall: Understanding Media The Extension of Man ( The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts [3]https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/customers-and-communities-serving-the-cities-overcoming-congestion/street-corner [4] Fink, Wilhellm, Body. Projection. Image – A Cultural History of Shadow Images [Body. Projection. Picture- A Cultural History of Shadow Pictures], German, 2015 [5] Hassan, Fuad. Psikologi-Kita & Eksistensialisme. Komunitas Bambu. 2014 [6] Ibid [7] Fink, Wilhellm, Body. Projection. Image – A Cultural History of Shadow Images [Body. Projection. Picture- A Cultural History of Shadow Pictures], German, 2015 [8] http://p2k.unkris.ac.id/id3/3065-2962/Ruang-Waktu_39157_p2k-unkris.html [9] Ibid [10] Fink, Wilhellm, Body. Projection. Image – A Cultural History of Shadow Images [Body. Projection. Picture- A Cultural History of Shadow Pictures], German, 2015
Text : Miranti Dian
Proof Read : Ningtyas Benita
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