Artist channels 'nature's fury' against environmental destruction, broken

promises

Bandung-born artist Arahmaiani is known for using her art and activism to fight for the
environment, as well as in helping local communities to apply traditional methods and
wisdoms to develop sustainable farms. Reflecting on today’s environmental perils, renowned
artist and environmental activist Arahmaiani persists in her criticisms of the government for
its lack of action to protect and preserve the environment. She has turned her fury into an art
performance called Furious Mother Earth. The performance begins with Arahmaiani writing
the word “alam” (nature) in capital letters on a white wall as her audience sits beside a table
covered with balls of clay. After she finishes writing, she picks up some of the clay balls and
throws them at the wall. She then asks the audience to stand and throw the balls until the wall
is spattered with clay.

The 20-minute performance art is Arahmaiani's way of visualizing that nature is unwell from
humans harming it constantly. The 60-year-old artist blames humans for many “natural”
disasters, including the COVID-19 pandemic. "This pandemic is a sign from nature to us all
that we have to change our mindset and way of life to prevent us from causing more
destruction to this planet," she said. Government critic In the national art scene, Arahmaiani
is known for using her art to criticize religious intolerance and radicalism, as well as calling
for interfaith dialogue and peace. However, her recent works mainly explore the relationship
between nature and human activity that has led to environmental problems. She used
"furious" in the title of her latest performance art, she says, to "convey the message that
Mother Earth is furious at us and we will suffer if we are not careful with our behavior
toward nature”. Before the pandemic, Arahmaiani was inspired by President Joko Widodo's
campaign promise to save the environment, which she believed remained unfulfilled. So she
created a piece titled Shadow of the Past, which she performed at Museum Taman Prasasti in
Central Jakarta, embracing trees while strolling the museum grounds, her face and hair
covered with clay. Arahmaiani often uses clay symbolically, because its base components of
soil and water are the sources of all life.

Beyond art Arahmaiani used to travel back and forth between Indonesia and Tibet, working
with the monks there to initiate a tree-planting project while also working on her art projects.
Since the arrival of the pandemic and attendant travel restrictions, she has been focusing on
developing organic farms in Bali and Yogyakarta. In Yogyakarta, she has teamed up with
santri (Islamic boarding school students) from Pondok Pesantren Amumarta in Bantul
regency as well as residents and farmers of the Bumi Langit community, also in Bantul. In
Bali, she worked on various conversation projects in collaboration with the Sanggar
Paripurna community in Bona village in Gianyar, and the Kebun Berdaya community in
Tegeh Sari village, Denpasar. The organic farms these communities designed inspired others
in neighboring Balinese villages to follow suit. "The organic farms developed by the
community in Bona are designed for rural people, while the organic farms developed by the
community in Denpasar are designed for urbanites," she explained. Arahmaiani and the
communities used permaculture to develop sustainable and self-sufficient agricultural
ecosystems in alignment with local customs and wisdoms. Permaculture adopts the natural
arrangements of flourishing ecosystems in designing productive, self-sustaining human
habitats, and is a movement founded by Australian researcher Bill Mollison. According to
Arahmaiani, however, ancestral Indonesians practiced the technique long before Mollison
coined the term in 1978. "In the past, people saw themselves as part of nature, not the ruler of
nature. That's why they had a harmonious relationship with nature. In contrast, people in the
modern era tend to be destructive. Forests are cleared and natural resources like oil and coal
are [taken] for money," she said.

Benefiting all Balinese puppeteer I Made Sidia, who is also art director at the Sanggar
Paripurna arts center in Gianyar, expressed his appreciation for Arahmaiani for helping his
students to better understand nature and grow to love local traditions through her art. He
recalled Arahmaiani once performing one of her famous pieces, Flag Project, at Sanggar
Paripurna and inviting his students to dance during the performance. "This performance
taught us to be open-minded, to love the noble values of our nation and most importantly, to
care for the environment and fellow human beings," said Made. He also said Arahmaiani
taught his students to grow vegetables and fruits using organic methods, splitting them into
gardening groups with farming-inspired names like Kambing (Goat), Sapi (Cow), Anjing
(Dog) and Ayam (Chicken) for a gardening competition at the arts center. The competition
helped the students understand the benefits of organic food and the dangers of pesticides to
the human body, Made recounted. "They don’t litter now. Before meeting Arahmaiani, they
had no discipline in properly disposing garbage, particularly plastic waste. After her stay at
Sanggar Paripurna, they had gained the self-awareness to do good for the environment," he
said. Krisna Waworuntu, who runs an organic farm as part of the Bumi Langit community,
said he was grateful for collaborating with Arahmaiani. "Our collaboration is not too artistic
but functional, because I want its benefits to be sustainable for society and the environment,"
he said.
 Artis menyalurkan 'kemarahan alam' terhadap perusakan lingkungan,
janji yang diingkari

Seniman kelahiran Bandung, Arahmaiani, dikenal menggunakan seni dan

aktivismenya untuk memperjuangkan lingkungan, serta membantu masyarakat
setempat menerapkan metode dan kearifan tradisional untuk mengembangkan
pertanian berkelanjutan.
Berkaca pada bahaya lingkungan hari ini, seniman terkenal dan aktivis lingkungan
Arahmaiani terus mengkritik pemerintah karena kurangnya tindakan untuk
melindungi dan melestarikan lingkungan.
Dia telah mengubah kemarahannya menjadi pertunjukan seni yang disebut Furious
Mother Earth.
Pertunjukan dimulai dengan Arahmaiani menulis kata "alam" (alam) dengan huruf
kapital di dinding putih saat penontonnya duduk di samping meja yang dilapisi bola
tanah liat. Setelah dia selesai menulis, dia mengambil beberapa bola tanah liat dan
melemparkannya ke dinding. Dia kemudian meminta penonton untuk berdiri dan
melempar bola sampai dinding terciprat tanah liat.
Seni pertunjukan berdurasi 20 menit ini merupakan cara Arahmaiani
memvisualisasikan bahwa alam sedang tidak sehat dari manusia yang terus
menerus mencelakainya.
Seniman berusia 60 tahun itu menyalahkan manusia atas banyak bencana “alam”,
termasuk pandemi COVID-19.
"Pandemi ini adalah tanda dari alam kepada kita semua bahwa kita harus mengubah
pola pikir dan cara hidup kita untuk mencegah kita menyebabkan lebih banyak
kerusakan pada planet ini," katanya.
Kritikus Pemerintah
Di kancah seni rupa nasional, Arahmaiani dikenal menggunakan karya seninya
untuk mengkritik intoleransi dan radikalisme agama, serta menyerukan dialog
antaragama dan perdamaian. Namun, karya-karya terbarunya lebih banyak
mengeksplorasi hubungan antara alam dan aktivitas manusia yang menimbulkan
masalah lingkungan.
Dia menggunakan "furious" dalam judul performance art terbarunya, katanya, untuk
"menyampaikan pesan bahwa Ibu Pertiwi murka kepada kita dan kita akan
menderita jika kita tidak berhati-hati dengan perilaku kita terhadap alam".
Sebelum pandemi, Arahmaiani Terinspirasi dari janji kampanye Presiden Joko
Widodo untuk menyelamatkan lingkungan, yang dia yakini masih belum terpenuhi,
maka dia menciptakan sebuah karya berjudul Bayangan Masa Lalu, yang dia
tampilkan di Museum Taman Prasasti Jakarta Pusat, merangkul pohon sambil
berjalan-jalan di halaman museum, dia muka dan rambut ditutupi dengan tanah liat.
Arahmaiani sering menggunakan tanah liat secara simbolis, karena komponen
dasarnya tanah dan air adalah sumber segala kehidupan.
Di luar seni
Arahmaiani biasa melakukan perjalanan bolak-balik antara Indonesia dan Tibet,
bekerja dengan para biksu di sana untuk memulai proyek penanaman pohon sambil
juga mengerjakan proyek seninya.
Sejak datangnya pandemi dan pembatasan perjalanan yang menyertainya, ia telah
fokus mengembangkan pertanian organik di Bali dan Yogyakarta.
Di Yogyakarta, ia bekerja sama dengan santri dari Pondok Pesantren Amumarta di
Kabupaten Bantul serta warga dan petani komunitas Bumi Langit, juga di Bantul.
Di Bali, ia mengerjakan berbagai proyek percakapan bekerja sama dengan
komunitas Sanggar Paripurna di desa Bona di Gianyar, dan komunitas Kebun
Berdaya di desa Tegeh Sari, Denpasar. Pertanian organik yang dirancang
komunitas ini menginspirasi orang lain di desa tetangga Bali untuk mengikutinya.
“Pertanian organik yang dikembangkan masyarakat di Bona dirancang untuk
masyarakat pedesaan, sedangkan pertanian organik yang dikembangkan
masyarakat di Denpasar dirancang untuk masyarakat perkotaan,” jelasnya.
Arahmaiani dan masyarakat menggunakan permakultur untuk mengembangkan
ekosistem pertanian yang berkelanjutan dan mandiri sesuai dengan adat dan
kearifan lokal.
Permakultur mengadopsi pengaturan alami ekosistem yang berkembang dalam
merancang habitat manusia yang produktif dan mandiri, dan merupakan gerakan
yang didirikan oleh peneliti Australia Bill Mollison.
Namun, menurut Arahmaiani, nenek moyang Indonesia telah mempraktekkan teknik
ini jauh sebelum Mollison menciptakan istilah tersebut pada tahun 1978.
“Dulu, manusia melihat dirinya sebagai bagian dari alam, bukan penguasa alam.
Karena itulah mereka memiliki hubungan yang harmonis dengan alam. Sebaliknya,
masyarakat di era modern cenderung destruktif. Hutan ditebangi dan sumber daya
alam seperti minyak dan batu bara [diambil] untuk uang," katanya.
Dimanfaatkan oleh semua
Dalang Bali I Made Sidia, yang juga art director di Sanggar Paripurna Art Center di
Gianyar, menyampaikan apresiasinya kepada Arahmaiani karena telah membantu
murid-muridnya untuk lebih memahami alam dan menumbuhkan kecintaan terhadap
tradisi lokal melalui seninya.
Ia mengenang Arahmaiani pernah menampilkan salah satu karya terkenalnya,
Proyek Bendera, di Sanggar Paripurna dan mengundang murid-muridnya untuk
menari selama pertunjukan.
“Pertunjukan ini mengajarkan kita untuk berpikiran terbuka, mencintai nilai-nilai luhur
bangsa dan yang terpenting peduli terhadap lingkungan dan sesama manusia,” kata
Made.
Ia juga mengatakan Arahmaiani mengajari murid-muridnya menanam sayuran dan
buah-buahan menggunakan metode organik, membagi mereka menjadi kelompok-
kelompok berkebun dengan nama-nama yang terinspirasi dari pertanian seperti
Kambing (Kambing), Sapi (Sapi), Anjing (Anjing) dan Ayam (Ayam) untuk kompetisi
berkebun di pusat seni.
Lomba tersebut membantu para siswa memahami manfaat makanan organik dan
bahaya pestisida bagi tubuh manusia, cerita Made.
“Sekarang mereka tidak membuang sampah sembarangan. Sebelum bertemu
Arahmaiani, mereka tidak disiplin dalam membuang sampah pada tempatnya,
khususnya sampah plastik. Setelah berada di Sanggar Paripurna, mereka memiliki
kesadaran diri untuk berbuat baik bagi lingkungan,” ungkapnya.
Krisna Waworuntu yang mengelola pertanian organik sebagai bagian dari komunitas
Bumi Langit mengaku bersyukur bisa bekerjasama dengan Arahmaiani.
Kolaborasi kita tidak terlalu artistik tapi fungsional, karena saya ingin manfaatnya
berkelanjutan bagi masyarakat dan lingkungan,” ujarnya.