Uji Hahan Handoko Eko Saputro / Indonesia

Indonesia born 1983

Hahan combines the aesthetics of traditional Javanese mythology with popular youth culture and underground comics. His works illustrate a point of tension between the local and the global and, while acknowledging its allure, critiques the mechanisms of an expanding global art market. The paintings that form part of his installation Young speculative wanderers, 2014–15, include references to artists and the sale of their work, with one depicting the facade of NGV International, with steps leading up to the Waterwall. The installation also incorporates hand-made Azulejo tiles which employ a traditional Spanish and Portuguese technique that is a legacy of European exploration, trade and colonisation in South-East Asia.

BIO

Hahan has participated in numerous group exhibitions in Indonesia and abroad, including the 7th Asia Pacific Triennial, Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, in 2012. He has also collaborated in a range of collectives and bands, the best known of which is the art collective/rock band PUNKASILA, which he co-founded with Australian artist Danius Kesminas. PUNKASILA participated in the 8th Asia Pacific Triennial, Brisbane in 2007 and the Havana Biennial, Cuba, in 2009.

Supported by NGV Supporters of Contemporary Art, with travel support from the Elizabeth Summons Grant in Memory of Nicholas Draffin.