Alfred W. Djami, Juli, 2022. Digital print and yarn embroidery on canvas, 76 x 55 cm. Courtesy: the artist and Delmar Gallery, Sydney.

On Tradition: Contemporary art from Indonesia presents artists and collectives from across the Indonesian archipelago who work with traditional art practices in contemporary contexts. While the contemporary and the traditional have often been seen as binaries when looking at Indonesian art, this exhibition reveals the crossovers and new forms which are developing.

Alongside artists working in Java and Bali, the exhibition features an equal number from outlying areas including Sumba, North Maluku, West Timor, North Sumatra, Kalimantan and West Papua. Whether with criticality, nostalgia, documentary precision or whole-hearted embrace, the works in On Tradition show that artists’ relationships with tradition are not a straight line from the past to the future, but a vibrant cycle of perpetual reimagining.

Exhibited artists include Septa Adi, Rizka Azizah Hayati, Broken Pitch x Juanga Culture, Dewie Bukit, Alfred W. Djami, Fitriani Dwi Kurniasih, Nency Dwi Ratna, Arie Dyanto, Ni Luh Pangestu, Dias Prabu, Sangkakala, and Udeido Collective.

Curated by Elly Kent and co-presented with 16albermarle Project Space.

Opening Event: Curator talk, Sunday 5 May, from 1.30pm.