MELLA
JAARSMA : THE SHELTER 
Biodata
: Melly Jaarsma Mella
Jaarsma (b. 1960, Emmeloord, the Netherlands) studied visual art at Minerva Academy,
Groningen, Netherlands (1978 -1984) before continuing her education in Indonesia
at the Art Institute of Jakarta (1984) and later at the Art Institute of Indonesia,
Yogyakarta (1985 - 86). Based in Yogyakarta, she has been living and working in
Indonesia for twenty years. With Nindityo Adipurnomo, Mella Jaarsma is co-founder
and co director since 1988 of Cemeti Art House in Yogyakarta, a vibrant and an
active centre for contemporary art with monthly exhibitions of Indonesian and
international artists. As an artist she has held numerous exhibition and performances
since the mid 1980s. The most recent include solo exhibitions 'I Eat You Eat Me'
at Chulanglongkorn University, Bangkok curated by Dr. Apinan Poshyananda (2001);
'Moral Pointers' at Lontar Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia (2002); 'The Warrior',
Jaske Gallery, Sydney, Australia (2003) and participation at the 'Third Asia-Pacific
Triennial', Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia (1999), 'Snapshot', Contemporary
Museum, Baltimore, USA (2000), "Floating Chimeras', Edsvik Art, Sollentuna,
Sweden (2001), ARS 01, Kiasma Museum, Helsinki, Finland (2001), 'Gwanju Biennale',
Gwanju, Korea (2002); the 5th 'International Exhibition of Sculptures and Installation',
Venice, Italy (2002); 'Visual Poetry' at Hokkaido Museum of Literature, Sapporo,
Japan (2002); 'Witnessing to Silence, Art and Human Rights' at Canberra Contemporary
Art Space as part of the ANU Humanities Research Centre Project, Canberra, Australia
(2003), and 'Country-bution', Yogyakarta Biennale VII at Taman Budaya, Yogyakarta,
Indonesia (2003). She has held performances such as 'Hi Inlander' at the Queensland
Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia for the Third Asia-Pacific Triennial (1999),
'Do I Need to Feed You' in three different cities i.e. Bangkok, Thailand, Jakarta,
Indonesia and Sollentuna, Sweden in 2001 and in 2003 'Rubber Time' at Lunagangga,
Sri Lanka and Taman Budaya Sosietet for the Yogyakarta Biennale VII, Indonesia.
She has been involved in art projects such as 'Kita Makan Apa Hari Ini' at the
Surabaya Art Festival, Surabaya, Indonesia (1996) and the 'Theertha International
Artists Workshop 2003' in Theertha, Sri Lanka (2003). She has been awarded an
artist's work grant in 1988 1991 from the Ministry of Culture and Education of
the Netherlands and a travel grant to Sapporo from the Japan Foundation in Jakarta,
Indonesia in 1998. She has held residencies at Art Center, Chulalongkorn University,
Bangkok, Thailand in 2001 and Studio 106, La Salle-SIA College of the Arts, Singapore
in 2003. For this exhibition, Mella Jaarsma was invited for a two-weeks' residency
at Rimbun Dahan, Kuang, Selangor. Her works are in the public collections of Municipals
of Groningen, Amsterdam and Apeldoorn in the Netherlands, Municipal of Filderstadt,
Stuttgart, Germany, Foundation of Fine Arts, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Sampoerna
Bank, Jakarta, Indonesia, Dutch Embassy, Jakarta, Indonesia, Singapore Art Museum,
Singapore, Widayat Museum, Magelang, Indonesia, Lontar Foundation, Jakarta, Indonesia,
Museum Oei Hong Djien, Magelang, Indonesia, Ministry of Education and Culture,
Jakarta, Indonesia, Artoteek Den Haag, The Netherlands, Deutsche Bank, Jakarta,
Indonesia and the Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia. 
 
Artist's
Statement The
Shelter These
series of gouaches with the theme "The Shelter" were realized during
my residency at Studio 106 in Singapore last March 2003. The costumes and cloaks
I have been working on more recently have developed into "flexible housings".
The basic function of a roof above your head is to protect you in tropical climates
from the sun and the rain. The idea of a roof though can also be further developed.
It captures a certain space (like a temple) covering a vision / belief of a group
or organization. The shelter is the minimal construction needed for protection,
not yet a shape of a house, directly related to the proportions of the human body.
The shelters only give space for one person and some are made out of movable constructions.
It gives the feeling that the person is trapped in a certain spot because the
roof is low and almost becomes a costume or (refugee) tent. Common Statement Wearing
a veil or costume signifies the group to which we belong. On the other hand, it
conceals identity much in the way camouflage does. In both cases, it is about
giving up individuality and personal identity for the sake of becoming unapproachable
and untouchable in a group. Through my work, I try to reject the question of origin
and actually deconstruct identities by producing renewable identities, seeing
identity as a transient invention. Everyone who confronts my work comes at it
from different backgrounds and cultures, dealing with highly personal sets of
taboos and therefore experiencing the work in different ways. I want my work to
relate to these specific audiences, to deal with some of their taboos and interpretations.
This takes great sensitivity, and therefore I try to find ways to open up dialogue,
rather than work in a more confrontational way. I am not looking for symbols to
make a meaningful artwork, but I am searching for a phenomenological reality,
with images that speak for themselves, a reality that is an intriguing variety
of cultural experiences.
|
