Dadang Christanto

(Indonesia, Australia 1957– )

Title

They give evidence

Place of origin

Central Java → Java → Indonesia

Year

1996-1997

Media categories

Sculpture, Installation

Materials used

16 standing figures holding clothes. Figures made from terracotta powder mixed with resin/fibreglass; 22 pieces of clothing made from cloth and resin.

Dimensions

height: 200.0cm (male); 190.0cm (female); 100.0 x 150.0cm (width x depth):

a - Part a - male figure; 200cm; height

b - Part b - clothing; 134.6cm; height (approx.)

c - Part c - female figure; 190cm; height

d - Part d - clothing; 106cm; height (approx.)

e - Part e - female figure; 190cm; height

f - Part f - clothing; 125cm; height (approx.)

g - Part g - male figure; 200cm; height

h - Part h - clothing; 147.5cm; height (approx.)

i - Part i - male figure; 200cm; height

j - Part j - clothing; 148cm; height (approx.)

k - Part k - female figure; 190cm; height

l - Part l - clothing; 76cm; height (approx.)

m - Part m - child's clothing; 44cm; height (approx.)

n - Part n - female figure; 190cm; height

o - Part o - clothing; 140cm; height (approx.)

p - Part p - child's clothing; 44cm; height (approx.)

q - Part q - male figure; 200cm; height

r - Part r - clothing; 126cm; height (approx.)

s - Part s - male figure; 200cm; height

t - Part t - clothing; 129.5cm; height (approx.) Piece made in 2003.

u - Part u - child's clothing; 48.5cm; height (approx.) Piece made in 2003.

v - Part v - female figure; 190cm; height

w - Part w - clothing; 111cm; height (approx.)

x - Part x - child's clothing; 50cm; height (approx.)

y - Part y - female figure; 190cm; height

z - Part z - clothing; 101.5cm; height (approx.)

aa - Part aa - male figure; 200cm; height

bb - Part bb - clothing; 138cm; height (approx.) Piece made in 2003.

cc - Part cc - male figure; 200cm; height

dd - Part dd - clothing; 96.5cm; height (approx.)

ee - Part ee - child's clothing; 65cm; height (approx.)

ff - Part ff - female figure; 190cm; height

gg - Part gg - clothing; 143cm; height (approx.)

hh - Part hh - female figure; 190cm; height

ii - Part ii - clothing; 142cm; height (approx.)

jj - Part jj - male figure; 200cm; height

kk - Part kk - clothing; 144cm; height (approx.)

ll - Part ll - clothing

Credit

Purchased 2003

Accession number

337.2003.a-ll

Copyright

Location

Upper Asian gallery

Further information

Dadang graduated from the Indonesian Art College, Yogyakarta in 1978, and now lives in Darwin. The focus of his work, whether installations or drawings, is human suffering. His work speaks eloquently for the victims of oppression and social injustice. The larger-than-life male and female figures in this installation represents displaced victims, mutely carrying the bodies of innocent men, women, and children who have been killed: testament to the inhumanity of man to man, a silent monument to communal grief. The work strikes an immediate, primeval chord of empathy, pain and compassion, and is a compelling universal plea against humanity.

Asian Art Department, AGNSW, August 2003.

Bibliography (17)

Anthony Bond (England; Australia) (Commissioning Editor), Wayne Tunnicliffe (New Zealand; Australia) (Commissioning Editor), Contemporary: Art Gallery of New South Wales Contemporary Collection, 2006, 258, 259 (colour illus.).

Queensland Art Gallery (Australia, estab. 1895) (Author), Beyond the Future, the Third Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Brisbane, 1999, 200, 201 (colour illus.).

Dadang Christanto (Indonesia; Australia, b.1957) (Artist), Hendro Wiyanto (Indonesia) (Curator), The Unspeakable Horror, Indonesia, 2002, 7 (illus.), 15 (colour illus.), 16 (colour illus.), back cover (colour illus., detail).

'The Big-Hearted Art of Dadang Christanto' by Hendro Wiyanto, pg. 44-50., Latitudes Magazine Sep 2003, Sep 2003, 44-50, 46 (colour illus.).

'Towering bodies of evidence' by Rosalie Higson, pg. 15., The Australian 17 Oct 2003, 17 Oct 2003, 15 (illus.).

'Figures of influence' by Steve Meacham, pg. 10., The Sydney Morning Herald 18 Oct 2003, 18 Oct 2003, 10 (colour illus.). Forty-eight hours section

'New Asian gallery a shining lantern' by Lyndall Crisp, pg. 35., The Weekend Australian financial review 18 Oct 2003-19 Oct 2003, 18 Oct 2003-19 Oct 2003, 35 (colour illus.).

'Witnesses from Indonesia' by Sue Ingham, pg. 22., TAASA Review Dec 2003, Dec 2003, 22 (colour illus.).

'Global Resonances' by Carolyn Van Langenberg, pg. 16., Look Feb 2004, Feb 2004, 16 (colour illus.).

'...And these figures, they give evidence' by Sarah Pickette, pg. 88-96., POL Oxygen 2004, 2004, 88-96, 89 (colour illus.), 94 (colour illus.).

Art in Southeast Asia 1997: glimpses into the future, 1997.

Art Gallery of New South Wales Annual Report 2004 2004, 2004, 17 (colour illus.), 30 (colour illus.).

'Asian Art at the Gallery of NSW', Artlink: The China Phenomena Dec 2003, Dec 2003, 74 (colour illus.). The colour illus. on page 74 is a detail of this work.

'Reading Dadang Christanto' by Andrea Stretton, pg. 271-273., Art and Australia (Vol. 42, No. 2) Dec 2004-Feb 2005, Dec 2004-Feb 2005, 271-272, 273 (colour illus.). The colour illus. on page 273 is a detail of this work.

'Dadang Christanto' by Amber Daines, pg. 9., Asian Art Newspaper Mar 2005, Mar 2005, 9 (illus.). The illus. on page 9 shows the work covered in black cloth, as part of the performance done during the time of the opening of the New Asian Galleries.

Sherman Galleries (Australia, estab. 1986, closed 2007) (Editor), Dadang Christanto: Heads and Trees, Sydney, 2005.

Edmund Capon (England; Australia, b.1940) (Author), Art Gallery of New South Wales: highlights from the collection, Sydney, 2008, 150-151 (colour illus.), 152 (colour illus.).

Exhibition history (2)

Art in Southeast Asia 1997: glimpses into the future, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, 02 Jun 1997.

Sao Paulo Biennale XXIV, 03 Oct 1998–13 Dec 1998.