UJI ‘HAHAN’ HANDOKO EKO SAPUTRO (b. 1983, Kebumen, Indonesia)
STANDING UP IN THE MARKETS’ BARRELS
2019
Cast bronze
57 x 45 x 83 cm
Known to juxtapose popular icons in contemporary art, street and punk culture, and his local tradition in Indonesia, UJI ‘HAHAN’ HANDOKO EKO SAPUTRO produces a unique visual language that blurs the line between high and low art, and unravels tensions and complicated dichotomies between East and West, the local and global, and tradition and modernity. With a sharp gaze that pierces through the ironies ingrained in the societal structures around him, Hahan uses his art to confront his position as a young artist from Indonesia, navigating the dizzying, intoxicating culture of the global commercial art world.
Yogyakarta is an exciting and open environment for chance and possibility for different kinds of artists who work and live in this city. Working with craftsmen created an achievement that opened up a lot of creative work through collaboration.
EXCERPTS FROM AN INTERVIEW WITH UJI ‘HAHAN’ HANDOKO EKO SAPUTRO AND NICOLE SORIANO
During his residency at YAL, Hahan expanded his comedic critiques on the banalities of the art market by creating bronze sculptures that offer a more solid, commanding presence compared to his graffiti, horror vacui paintings. From a muscled, alien-like creature with currencies for eyes to a lobster covered in a Louis Vuitton pattern holding up a Sotheby’s paddle, these polished bronze sculptures, looking like surreal, satirical trophies, add a fresh layer to Hahan’s investigations on the tense relationships among artists, art objects, wealth and prestige.
MANNER, DINNER, LOBSTER
2020
Bronze
120 x 53 x 70 cm
Edition of 2 and 2 Artist Proofs
