Wonocolo

2019 - Painting (Painting)

150 x 200 cm

Maryanto

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Wonocolo by Maryanto is part of a body of research and work that has been investigating the mining realities of Indonesia and Nigeria since 2015. This acrylic painting refers to ‘Texas’ Wonocolo in Bojonegoro, a traditional oil mine in East Java. Initially built by the Dutch and abandoned during Japanese occupation, it was revived under Indonesia’s independence (1949) and is now a controversial issue between local sovereign right and environmental concern. In this meticulous painting, produced by a unique scratching technique akin to sgraffito, industrial mining equipment lies beneath makeshift tin-roofed shanty structures atop an oil mine. This black and white hill-side-scene is devoid of people, a landscape seemingly raped and robbed. Such local mines are common and invariably politically corrupt, whereby local people economically rely on its existence.

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Maryanto is an artist with a background in printmaking whose research-oriented practice is deeply concerned with ecological footprints and actions of humanity. He combines these two concerns with a unique style and approach, transferring the language of printmaking to painting. Concurrently, the artist invests time in the social work of caring for his subjects. He has previously assisted with and created strategies for communities prone to conflicts and catastrophes, with a particular concern for environmental disasters, such as the 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake. Working across printmaking, drawing, painting, mural, sculpture and installation, Maryanto’s skillful art conjures landscapes that are at once classically idyllic and inherently corrupted by systems of power. Much of his critique falls on the residual presence of imperialism, the greed of corporate neo-colonial wealth, and its violent ramifications on his culture, land, and people.

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Colors:

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• ecology.n.01
• imperialism.n.01
• industry.n.01
• environmental.a.02
• mining.n.01
• landscape.n.01
• exploitation.n.01
• natural_resource.n.01
• monochrome