“The painter constructs, the photographer discloses” wrote Susan Sontag in On Photography.
In Indonesian artist Boedi Widjaja’s work, these seemingly conflicting mediums converge through his hand-drawn negative images of political photographs taken from the Indonesian mass media. These drawings are then photographed into positive prints, which viewers are able to view through their personal mobile devices.
The constant shift between photography and drawing in his work enables Widjaja to reclaim his past — one that was rendered unstable by ethnic tensions — to imbue it with a sense of personal agency.
‘Imaginary Homeland’ expands from Widjaja’s investigations into one of his primary concerns of diaspora, and is a means for both the artist and the viewer to recall and re-form personal narratives.
See more of Boedi Widjaja’s works in ‘Imaginary Homeland’ at Objectifs Centre for Photography and Film, 155 Middle Rd, S188977. Tue-Sat 12pm-7pm, Sun 12pm- 4pm. Until Jan 24.
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