[Kabar-indonesia] Toimoi Collective Gallery - Eko Nugroho [+Q! filmfest returns]

[Joyo at aol.com]

also:  Q! filmfest back with more fabulous film fun

The Jakarta Post 
Saturday, September 2, 2006

    
Toimoi Gallery, a place for 'you and me'

Carla Bianpoen, Contributor, Jakarta

For the young and sometimes beautiful people entranced by the Toimoi 
collective's work, good art should be provocative, humorous, dislocating, disturbing 
and, most importantly, outside of "normal" categories.

At the far end of the 6 by 8 meter space, masked and painted young men and 
women move their bodies to the rhythm of pounding music.

Looking down from the wall is a hooded figure painted by Eko Nugroho, a 
graduate of the Indonesian Fine Arts Institute (ISI) and arguably one of the most 
prominent young artists of his generation.

On the side is another mural, with a garland carrying the text "We are united 
of what" (sic). There are also small paintings, and embroidered works, all of 
which have a semi-comical quality. But the comical is often a sharp comment 
on current situations and takes a cynical twist, like in the We are united of 
what mural, and another work bearing the "free as a gun" slogan.

Eko Nugroho, 29, first emerged on the art scene when he began publishing 
comics and compilations of photocopied works under the Daging Tumbuh (Tumor Lump) 
series.

Unlike other artists who jealously guard their intellectual property rights, 
Daging Tumbuh works encourage people to make copies. However, limited copies 
of the publications were also sold for sale.

In no time it gained great popularity, going beyond national boundaries.

Comprising graphic works on paper and canvas, comics, murals, installations, 
found objects and works in obscure mediums, Eko Nugroho, mixes nonsensical 
texts blending colloquial Indonesian with grammatically incorrect English and 
Yogya slang into a visual language that is fully his own.

Eko has proved himself a versatile artist, engaging in music and animation, 
he also creates dioramas and furniture in the Toimoi art space.

Toimoi, meanwhile, started out as a shop for household accessories, partly 
imported or from suppliers, or handmade in collaboration with other artists.

The year was 2003 when three "entrepreneurs" Diana Sari, Tina DK and Monica 
Annas, all ex-Trisakti students from the interior and graphic design 
department, decided to set up a space that would sell small works made by their 
colleagues engaged in the creative industry.

The space would at the same time be a community hub, where they could come 
together, discuss the problems of the day and enjoy each other's camaraderie.

As time went by, they realized the importance of contemporary art. And 
curator Farah Wardani, a lecturer at Trisakti, was asked to join in.

So far, Toimoi has had three exhibitions, reveals Farah, all reflecting the 
spirit of its audience -- young professionals aged between 30 and 40, and a few 
in their late 20s.

They do not buy for the purpose of collecting, but rather because they want 
to embellish interior spaces with something they really like.

The stakeholders of Toimoi are partly driven by an idealism that caters to a 
young urban crowd, which wants art, as yet unspoilt by the mainstream market. 
"That's why we focus on young artists," Farah says.

The name, which joins the French words for "you" and "me" into one -- focuses 
on the collective rather than the individual; a challenge to the myth of 
individuality used to market goods to an MTV generation.

In a world dominated by profit, Toimoi's relaxing atmosphere makes art 
practical, accessible, and the interrelation within the applied arts generates 
pleasure among the like-minded young and the young-at-heart.

It embodies the joy and sheer fun of creation that lifts one like a cool 
breeze in the heat of the day.

in box: MERDEKA ATOE SMS!! Exhibition by Eko Nugroho, through Sept. 25, 2006 
Toimoi Gallery & Shop Jl. Kemang Raya 27 South Jakarta

tel/fax: 7198371 e-mail info at toimoi.co.id

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The Jakarta Post 
Saturday, September 2, 2006

Q! filmfest back with more fabulous film fun

Paul Agusta, Contributor, Jakarta

Q-munity, for the fifth consecutive year, is bringing back the Q! Film 
Festival, which runs from Sept. 1 through 10.

This year, it is opening with a real big bang, as the festival was listed 
recently as part of the international Teddy Awards, the Gay and Lesbian Section 
of the Berlin Film Festival.

Since 2001, Q-munity, the Jakarta-based arts management organization founded 
by John Badalu, has consistently brought issues important to the local gay and 
lesbian community -- as well as to Indonesian society as a whole -- to the 
forefront of discussion through the presentation of provocative themes and the 
screening of groundbreaking films at its Q! Film Festival.

This year, in the midst of economic uncertainty nationwide and the ensuing 
lack of funds for festival activities, the Q! Film Festival organizers and the 
gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) community are forging ahead 
anyway with the same dynamic spirit and sincere dedication they have always shown.

Financial constraints are being answered with enthusiastic volunteerism on 
the part of both local and international supporters, and the show is definitely 
going on.

This year's theme of homoeroticism in film is sure to give rise to lively 
discussion -- even debate -- and hopefully some enlightenment over Indonesian 
society's perception and treatment of homosexuality.

With local and international film community guests and speakers, such as 
prominent Indonesian filmmakers Riri Riza and Nia Di Nata, and the movers and 
shakers behind South Africa's Out In Africa, Sharon Jackson and Nodi Murphy, this 
year's Q! Film Festival promises to shine.

Discussions to be held at venues scattered throughout Jakarta and also in 
Denpasar, Bali, are expected to focus around topics such as Homosexuals in 
Government Policy; Homoerotica in Indonesian Films; and the Phenomenon of 
Homosexuality in Urban Centers.

This will be in tandem with the launching of the novel Being Ing and the 
short story collection Dunia di Kepala Alice by Ucu Agustin, as well as The Beauty 
of Same-Sex Marriages -- based on a review of the book Kawin Sesama Jenis by 
Adib.

Of course, there will also be a great many films focusing on the theme of 
homoeroticism and other subjects of GLBT interest.

Among the Indonesian films to be screened and discussed are Berbagi Suami, 
Detik Terakhir,Realita Cinta dan Rock and Roll, and Gie, all of which, at one 
level or another, can be perceived as being imbued with homoerotic nuances.

Among the foreign feature film offerings also tackling the theme will be The 
Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros, from the Philippines; Brokeback Mountain and 
Loving Annabelle (U.S.); Sleeve Boys (UK); Inner Circle Line (S.Korea); Journey 
to Kafiristan (Germany); Queens (Spain); Shitou and that Nana (China); and 
Yossi & Jagger (Israel).

A number of sassy short films, both Indonesian and international, will be 
shown, including Combat, Boys Will Be Boys, Last Full Show, The Matchmaker, 
Perception, Masturbation, Same Blood, Trouble, Do You Know that Bad Girls Go to 
Hell, and Out in Africa (a compilation of 13 short films).

Discussions and screenings will be held at the following venues: GoetheHaus, 
Cemara 6 Gallery, Oktagon Photo Gallery, Teater Utan Kayu, Subtitles DVD 
Rental, ArtSinema TIM, Centre Culturel Francais and Scoops Coffee Shop, with social 
get-togethers planned at Red Square and Episode.

(For a full schedule of all events and additional information, visit Q! Film 
Festival website at www.qfilmfestival.org. Admission to films and discussions 
is free of charge.) 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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