WEARABLE | Exhibition Artworks

Bandung | Yogyakarta | Ubud

In this work I continue to speak about my exploration of the Javanese cultural phenomena by appropriating the traditional dress kain-kebaya and its attributes.

Long-torso, or women's brassiere is an important part of kain-kebaya. It is worn to give a certain definition for the figure, such as to look slender, proud and to have a well corrected posture. This under garment is also meant to make women look more attractive and sensual, but often it makes them feel tight and restricted.

By wearing kain-kebaya, women can showoff as well as hide their true selves. What is seen, is a made-up identity which validity can be questioned.

Another common aspect of this culture is the use of magical objects such as charm, amulet or fetish which is called jimat, susuk or aji-ajian. These objects are worn to give the sense of being protected, to attract other people, to gain material wealth or to control as well as manipulate other people. Jimat or fetish usually wrapped in a piece of cloth, filled with mixture of flower petals, stones, written prayers, and is placed or tied with yarn under the garment.

The use of kain-kebaya and its material as well as non material attributes suggest interesting information about the psychological condition of the person wearing it.

In many social or formal functions, kain-kebaya become the accepted uniform for Indonesian women. The use of kain-kebaya as uniform somehow reflects the collective way of thinking as well as synchronized opinion in order to maintain harmony and a sense of security for the wearer. This sense of false security become the crucial question in critically examining uniformity as a dress code.

Through this "Wearable" exhibition I had an interesting opportunity to closely observe kain-kebaya as uniform, as well as further explore the personal psychological phenomena behind kain-kebaya and its attributes.

Astari Rasjid

Alexandra J. Wuisan | Astari Rasjid | Choi Jeong-Hwa | Damon Moon
David Sequeira | Frances Alleblas | Mella Jaarsma | Minako Saitoh | Midori Hirota
Mongkol Plienbangchang | Park Hye-Sung | Ruswandi Abdul Ghani | W. Christiawan

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