PERIL: Can you describe some of the artworks you are exhibiting at APT7?
HAHAN: My work in APT7 is part my ideas talking about the young artist position in Indonesia. Like one of the works ‘the journey’ is talking about effort some of Indonesia young artists to be have good position in international art worlds but it’s not easy way to go there, lots of hard work we must do to make the way to go there.
PERIL: What are some of the ideas behind your art practice?
HAHAN: I have influence by youth culture, comic and punk. My works across several mediums including painting, ink drawing and sculpture. In my most recent works I explores themes of experience (international art market) from young artists in the art world from the perspective of an emerging Indonesian artist
PERIL: How did you develop your visual language of street art and punk music?
HAHAN: It’s like lots of things, I’m interesting put in my head and I mix that together to be something…
PERIL: Your art delivers a powerful critique of the structures and mechanisms of the commercial art world? Can you discuss this?
HAHAN: It’s like telling some of my experience in my country or maybe it happen in your country about the position for young artist where it’s not have strong position in mechanisms of the commercial art world, some of them (young artists) just be like oil in commercial art world machine, if the oil getting not good they will be thrown away and the machine will be searching to getting the new oil again for make the machine will be working again and again. I looking that and I want to share the experience to the audience (it’s like pull the trigger from people to thinking about that and make personal opinion about that).
Uji Handoko Eko Saputro (aka Hahan) is exhibiting at The 7th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT7), 8 December 2012 — 14 April 2013, Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) and Queensland Art Gallery (QAG). Free admission.
