Practices of Re-Narrating History through Art
Free Public Lecture
 will talk about his life, career and art works.
Purbaya’s art photography and other work focuses on the largescale killings and civil unrest in Indonesia in the mid1960s, and their impact on contemporary Indonesian culture. The artist looks beneath the surface of official, monolithic historical narratives and searches for personal histories and unique individual experiences. When he researches people’s histories, the connection between personal history and general history develops naturally. His artistic approach is meant to reconnect people and stories and overcome the distances caused by the tragedy.
The lecture will elaborate on his investigative method for excavating personal histories and remapping memories and identities. Some of the main questions he will address are: How should contemporary Indonesian society deal with the destruction of places, bodies and identities in the past? And what forms of “reparation” for contemporary injustices would be appropriate?
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Macgeorge Bequest Public Lecture
In this lecture, renowned Indonesian art photographer Rangga Purbaya (b. 1976) will talk about his life, career and art works.
Purbaya’s art photography and other work focuses on the large-scale killings and civil unrest in Indonesia in the mid-1960s, and their impact on contemporary Indonesian culture. The artist looks beneath the surface of official, monolithic historical narratives and searches for personal histories and unique individual experiences. When he researches people’s histories, the connection between personal history and general history develops naturally. His artistic approach is meant to reconnect people and stories and overcome the distances caused by the tragedy.
The lecture will elaborate on his investigative method for excavating personal histories and re-mapping memories and identities. Some of the main questions he will address are: How should contemporary Indonesian society deal with the destruction of places, bodies and identities in the past? And what forms of “reparation” for contemporary injustices would be appropriate?
Presenter
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Rangga Purbaya, Co-founder; Contemporary Art Collective Ruang Mes 56 in Yogyakarta, IndonesiaRangga Purbaya
Co-founder; Contemporary Art Collective Ruang Mes 56 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Ruang Mes 56
Rangga Purbaya is a Photography graduate (19992006) of the Indonesian Institute of the Arts (ISI) Yogyakarta. He is one of the cofounders of the contemporary art collective Ruang Mes 56 in Yogyakarta. His work, including photography, text, mixedmedia, video installation, and performance, has a researchbased focus on history, memory and archiving. He considers art as ‘a medium for reflection, a catalyzer for building reconciliation, and an agent for transformation’ (http://ranggapurbaya.com/). He has had solo exhibitions and residencies in Korea, France and Indonesia. His work has been featured at Fête de l'Humanité, Unseen COOP Amsterdam, Jimei x Arles Photo Festival, Bangkok Photo Festival, ACC (Asia Culture Center), Goethe Institute Indonesien, and OzAsia Fest in Adelaide. With Ruang Mes 56, he has participated in groups exhibitions and festivals in Indonesia, Korea, Japan, Austria, China, Singapore, France, Thailand and The Netherlands.