5 July 2023—The Neglected Dimension opens at National Gallery Singapore
Opening on 7 July 2023, The Neglected Dimension features four modern Indonesian artists—Ahmad Sadali, A.D. Pirous, Haryadi Suadi, and Arahmaiani—who explore the use of Arabic calligraphy in their works.
What’s interesting is that although these artists were introduced to modern art by Dutch teachers while studying at the Faculty of Art and Design, Institut Teknologi Bandung or while travelling to Western Europe and North America, many of them infused their works with references to Arabic calligraphy, Islamic spirituality, and local cultures.
On top of this, the visual feast of an exhibition proposes a fluid understanding of calligraphy—that it doesn’t only have to conform to the traditional rules and functions established by the Muslim world. Highlighting this is how some artists focus on the forms and aesthetics of calligraphy, rather than solely consider its legibility.
Not only are the works incredibly rich and packed with details referencing the artists lived experiences as Muslims in Indonesia, but they also serve as a mighty introduction to how Arabic calligraphy is intertwined with Indonesian art. This angle in itself is noteworthy, as Arabic calligraphy is usually discussed in references to cultures of the Middle East, West Asia, North Africa, and South Asia and rarely Southeast Asia.
Check out the images below for a peek at the show!
The Neglected Dimension will run at National Gallery Singapore from 7 July 2023 – 25 February 2024.
National Gallery Singapore Curator Anissa Rahadiningtyas leading us on the media preview.Installation view of Arahmaiani’s Crossing Point (2011). The installation features flags used in the artist’s performance Crossing Point, with each flag featuring a Jawi word that refers to concepts of love, justice, and belonging. Jawi is a permutation of Arabic script and has been used to write the languages spoken by Muslim communities in Southeast Asia.Ahmad Sadali, Lukisan (Painting), (1966). Featuring an abstract field in shades of yellow, a deep blue orb in the lower right corner, and incisions of Arabic script in the top left corner, the work is one of the artist’s earliest experimentations with calligraphy and modernist abstraction.A.D. Pirous, Tulisan Merah (Red Writing), (1974). The crimson-hued work is a product of the artist’s fascination with the forms present in Arabic script, with the clusters of calligraphic writing on the top being illegible.A.D. Pirous, Ya Rabb, Dengarkanlah Kami IV, (Oh God, Please Listen to Us IV), (1991). The diptych, mottled in a harmonious palette of brown, beige, gold, and blue, features two verses from the Qur’an and the artist’s mastery of Arabic calligraphy. The work’s rich texture comes from layers of pulverised marble paste.The curator introducing a sprawling work by Haryadi Suadi, which reflects the artist’s local culture (note the reference to shadow puppetry!), divinity, and palmistry.A.D. Pirous, Epitaph IV, (1972). The work is inspired by Batu Aceh, Islamic tombstones from North Sumatra and North Java inscribed with historical epithets that mark the spread of Islam in Southeast Asia. The artist was particularly inspired to research Acehnese visual cultures after encountering Islamic art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.A.D. Pirous, Subuh / Doa VIII (Dawn / Prayer VIII), (1980). Silkscreen on paper. After graduating from art school in Bandung, the artist received a fellowship to study printmaking at the Rockefeller Institute of Technology. Here, the work features a soft graduation of colours to evoke the sunrise, with stylised Qur’anic calligraphy stretching over the bottom half.(Left) Archival materials on display include photographs of artists studying in Bandung and exhibition catalogues of works by Bandung artists. (Right) Catalogues of exhibitions from the 1990s and 2000s that featured works by the artists on show.
