Tracing The Subtle Signs in Windi Apriani’s Latest Work

The second solo exhibition by young artist Windi Apriani is officially opened (24/1). The curator A. Rikrik Kusmara titles this exhibition as Tracing Subtle Signs, comes as a result of Kusmara’s observation and interpretation of Windi’s works. 

Windi’s known works usually are self-portraits as well as other aspects of the relativity of time and space. Based on Kusmara’s observation, Windi has been asking ontological questions about “being” throughout her works so far. Windi has been trying to comprehend the nature of her existence as an individual, her relations on identities, objects, time, and space.

This exhibition displays Windi’s works in which we can see how the assimilation of both physical and artistic medium is distant yet integrated, creating a tension that cannot be easily consolidated. The main physical medium that Windi uses here are canvases, which is a conventional choice of a painting medium. Meanwhile, Windi also uses ballpoint pens which aren’t very conventional for painting. Windi puts the quality of ballpoint shading into the canvases. Her line by line shading creates images and shapes with a strong level of consistency. Therefore, this combination creates a unique artistic medium which also results in a unique artistic quality and unique artistic experience. 

For Kusmara, Windi’s current exhibition offers an interpretative approach on her artistic methods. Her technique and the pattern of her representation structure don’t change much from her previous works. Yet, she focuses on tracing her artistic process as a whole to reinforce and enrich her artistic statement. Kusmara stated that Windi wanted to complete the “frame of awareness” of the intuitive realm. This was what motivated all of her previous works. Kusmara describes Windi’s work as a radar that scans the symptoms of artistic experience and tracing all subtle signs which underlie her artistic process as a whole.

Kusmara said that these works of Windi’s have contemplative qualities. They do not just ask us to simply see the existence and matter, but also to trace and realize the quality of unshaded light which is also a part of being and existence. Kusmara sees this as Windi’s reinforcement of a wider spatial entity and gives space to a more metaphysical interpretation. 

This time, Windi also shows a clearer and more distinct representation of textiles. Windi herself explains this as a phase of conflict and ecstatic symptoms in presenting textile quality through her shading techniques. Kusmara said that culturally, we tend to associate the existence and meaning of textiles with domestic domain and feminity. Though, Kusmara personally sees that this presentation of textile from Windi doesn’t have to be a statement on gender or feminism. For Kusmara, Windi’s works have a more implicit statement which exposes the “female domestic space and wants us to experience it.

Another interesting aspect that can be found in Windi’s latest exhibition is the lack of a major variable that previously always appeared in her works: the self-portrait. According to Kusmara, this “disappearance” doesn’t ruin the structure of representation that Windi has established throughout her previous works. This absence of portrait doesn’t suggest a radical change in representation. Instead, it’s a proposition of “presence in absence” or the approach of absentia. These changes and evolution display the concept of being by indirectly presenting Windi’s identity. Windi uses more emphasis on lighting, textile, and various domestic objects as alternative methods of representation. Kusmara sees that this step is worth further exploration in Windi’s future works.

Tracing Subtle Signs: Solo Exhibition by Windi Apriani is being held at Edwin’s Gallery, Kemang, Jakarta Selatan from January 24th – February 4th, 2017.

A. Rikrik Kusmara (kurator), Tubagus "Andre" Sukmana (Kepala Galeri Nasional Indonesia), Windi Apriani, dan Edwin Rahardjo (Edwin's Gallery)

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