000			01950 a2200145 4500
999			_c1567 _d1567
008			191013b ||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
040			_carter
041			_aeng
090			_aARS6 14
245			_aAgus Suwage : _bCircle
260			_bSingapore Tyler Print Institute
500			_aSep.26 - Oct.24 2009
500			_aAgus Suwage’s works completed at STPI are a two dimensional conceptualisation of his 2005 installation Pink Swing Park. The installation depicted a male and female model in a fantasy world reminiscent of the Garden of Eden. The figures, nearly nude, surrounded a pink swing placed in the center. Artists in Indonesia constantly fight for freedom of artistic expression, and the media proclaimed Suwage’s work to be sacrilegious towards the story of Adam and Eve, insinuating the couple’s use of the pink swing in erotic and sexual activity. It was violently protested by the Front Pembela Islam, also known as the Front of the Defenders of Islam, and Suwage was faced with a potential five year jail term for producing “pornography”. Suwage’s works from his residency at STPI are an ironic effort to address the anti-pornography law passed in Indonesia in October, 2008. He focuses on the same female model from the Pink Swing Park installation, using a different visual language for each piece. Suwage interplays three elements; handwritten text from chapters of the anti-pornography bill, circle motifs, and the female figure. Each element is raised, embedded, or cut out to deliver a visually powerful image that is beautifully balanced with the colours used to print. While at STPI, Suwage was faced with the challenge to master an unfamiliar territory of prints and paper pulp. His experimentation with paper pulp brings sculptural elements to his two dimensional compositions. The 51 new works are a testament to Suwage’s determination to understand and manipulate a new artistic medium.
942			_2z _cCAT