Re-plating Mooi Indie

2018 - Photography (Photography)

33 x 50 cm

Bakudapan Food Study Group

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Mooi indie (which translates to “Beautiful Indies”) is a term used to depict the beauty of nature in the East Indies during the period of Dutch colonialism in Indonesia. The term is usually used to describe a painting, romanticising the alluring tropics through the lens of European imperialism. Later in the 1950s, the prominent Indonesian painter S. Sudjojono, who is known as one of the founding fathers of Indonesian Modern Art, publicly rejected the Mooi Indie genre as Indonesian art. He was outwardly critical about depicting colonialism in paintings that did not reveal the social realities in which people were suffering and starving. Re-plating Mooi Indie by Bakudapan Food Study Group is part of a photographic series that critically reflects on current conditions in Indonesia, where some parts of the countryside are still experiencing famine. By collecting images from traditional Indonesian Mooi indie paintings, Bakudapan appropriates and juxtaposes this imagery and turns them into foodscapes. The project also considers the politics of food such as land grabbing, material extraction, GMO corporations, and related issues of inequality in food sources and accessibility.

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Bakudapan Food Study Group is a study group that discusses ideas about food. The word Bakudapan is inspired by “bakudapa”, which comes from the Manadonese (North Sulawesi) language meaning to “meet”, and also “kudapan” which is a kind of snack that is usually served when there are activities such as a meeting, visiting, and hanging out. Therefore, “bakudapan” can be translated as eating snacks while meeting. Bakudapan Food Study Group aims to bring people who have an interest in food together. Bakudapan believes that food is not merely about nourishment, nor is it restricted to cooking, history, conservation, and the ambition to introduce it to the world. For the group, food can be an instrument to speak about broader social issues, such as politics, gender, economy, philosophy, art, and culture. As a study group, Bakudapan’s intention in their projects is to research and exchange information about food, drawing parallels between art, ethnography, research, and practice. Through their research, they explore and experiment with methods and forms from the arts (performance, artistic setting, exhibition) to daily life practices (cooking, gardening, reading). They aim to generate and share knowledge; for every project they produce a journal and share their reflections on their website.

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Colors:

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• food.n.01
• community.n.01
• colonialism.n.01
• orientalism.n.01
• imperialism.n.01