Melati Suryodarmo

Suryodarmo’s A Conversation with the Black installation and performance work absorbs the body of artist into a site-specific experience that tests the limit of human endurance. Here she visually develops a heightened environment to engage with the philosophy of geometry and passive/active notions of the gaze and audience interaction. Alternating between notions of escape, entrapment, oppression and liberation Surydarmo transforms and empowers the physical body as an investigation point on art, performance and the possibility of the human mind. A conversation with the Black" is a two hours performance.

Melati Suryodarmo

Melati Suryodarmo’s performances have been dealing with the relationship between a human body, a culture in which it belongs to and a constellation where it lives. Through the presence, she compiles, extracts, conceptualized and translates some phenomenon or subjects into movement, actions, and gestures that are specified to her performance. Melati Suryodarmo´s performances concern with cultural, social and political aspects, in which she articulates through her psychological and physical body. Her performances feature elements of physical presence and visual art to talk about identity, energy, politics and relationships between the body and the environments surrounding it. Melati Suryodarmo is an Indonesian born visual artist who lives and works since 1994 in Germany. She was graduated at the Universitas Padjadjaran Bandung in Socio and politics sciences, and Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig, Germany, focused in performance art and Raum Konzept. Suryodarmo has presented her works in various international festivals and exhibitions since 1996, including the 50th Venice Biennale 2003, Marking the territory, IMMA Dublin. e.t.c. In 2005, Melati Suryodarmo has performed at the Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam, during the Exhibition of the Life of Egon Schiele in 2005; Videobrasil Sao Paolo (2005), Haus der Kulturen der Welt Berlin, 52nd Venice Biennale dance Festival (2007), KIASMA Helsinki (2007), Manifesta7, in Bolzano, Italy (2008),and In Transit festival, HKW Berlin (2009). Since the last four years, Suryodarmo has been presenting her works in Indonesia and other South East Asian countries. For the Padepokan Lemah Putih Solo Indonesia, she has been organizing an annual Performance Art Laboratory Project and “undisclosed territory” performance art event in Solo Indonesia.