In the Darkness, I Hold Memories

Driven by a mutual interest and concern for single narratives of history, this exhibition is a joint effort between Forum Film Dokumenter and Cemeti – Institute for Art and Society. This exhibition features Suvi Wahyudianto and Maharani Mancanegara, two artists who consistently carry out history-based research as part of their creative process. Their approach, which utilizes archives and meticulous documentation, is important for seeing how art intersects with documentary practices as an effort to preserve memories and to speculate on the future.

Suvi Wahyudianto is a Madurese artist who frequently researches the history of Madura and its relationship to the riots that occurred during the transition from the New Order to the post- reform era. Since 2023, he has been traveling to trace the history of Madura-Sambas riots. Together with Aloysius, a photographer and videographer from Sambas, West Kalimantan, he traveled to gain a deeper understanding of the violent conflict that occurred in 1999, one year after Indonesia’s reform. This 20-day journey provided them with clarity on narratives they initially did not fully grasp, considering that the events occurred during their childhood. The journey also gave them the opportunity to understand things in a different way: with more intimacy and other readings, both of the history itself and of speculations about future reconciliation.

Curator

Dito Yuwono, Mira Asriningtyas

Artists

Suvi Wahyudianto
Suvi Wahyudianto was born in Bangkalan, Madura, on April 28, 1992. He is a young artist who recently completed his doctoral studies at ISI Yogyakarta. Through the elaboration of an autoethnographic approach into artworks, Suvi’s focus is on creating pieces that seek to reveal new narratives as a counterpoint to mainstream narratives. This poetic exploration is often translated into various creation techniques and diverse mediums, ranging from paintings and installations to text-based works.

Maharani Mancanagara
Maharani Mancanagara was born in Padang, West Sumatra, in 1990. She graduated from Graphic Studio, Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), Bandung, in 2013.