Room for FAAM Residence Program PartⅠ: Scanography on the Street by Angki Purbandono

Foreword

Since opening in 1999, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum (FAAM) has been conducting its annual Artist in Residence Program, inviting artists and researchers from Asia for a period of time that enables them to interact with citizens through collaborative art-making, workshops, and talk events. In 2022, as part of Fukuoka Art Next (a new governmental policy that supports emerging local artists and artistic activities), FAAM renewed this program and invited eight artists (including duos) across Japan and worldwide through its open call for them to work at the newly located studio in Artist Cafe Fukuoka. We wish to offer a glimpse of what we’ve done so far in the Artist in Residence Program over the years and introduce later achievements of the previously invited artists in this new series of exhibitions, Room for FAAM Residence Program, which started in 2019.

For the first term of the series, we introduce Angki Purbandono from Indonesia, who joined the Art Exchange Program for the 4th Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale 2009 (FT4).
Since 2005, Purbandono has been creating photography works in which he creates his own narratives by combining different kinds of objects. The artist uses the scanner to incorporate the images into his works instead of shooting with a camera, a technique known as scanography. His work also appeared on the exhibition poster of the FT4, which gave a strong impression to the public.
This section introduces Purbandono’s previous works, created in Indonesia and Fukuoka and exhibited at the FT4. It also includes archival materials from the workshops attended by elementary school students in Fukuoka. The section also refers to the artist’s recent solo exhibition in Yogyakarta. Visitors are invited to explore his artistic practice, which is currently developing in new directions.

About the Artist

Angki Purbandono（Indonesia）
Residency Period : August 27 – October 1, 2009

Angki Purbandono, now based in Yogyakarta, was born in Semarang, Indonesia, in 1971. Purbandono enrolled in Modern School of Design (MSD) and Indonesia Institute of the Arts in Yogyakarta. In the 4th Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale in 2009, the artist stayed in Fukuoka to create new works and organized some workshops.

Scanography is a form of photography in which a scanner is used instead of a camera, exposing the objects to strong light to make them show up very clearly in the darkness. Purbandono picked up a variety of objects chosen from his own perspective, such as trash on the street, toys, local fruits, or groceries, and combined them in the work. His work invites the viewers to liberate themselves from being observers of mere objects and grow their imagination to step into the world of another story.

The artist stated about the work, “We have to reinvent those old-dusty fairy tales and transform them into creative sources for the future. My work is an attempt to reconstruct narrativity from everyday stories.” He claims that reconsidering the story of the unfamiliar region within an intimate, familiar context would be a way to learn human history. His words may also be a hint for us to live together while paying respect to different values in contemporary society.

Purbandono did his solo exhibition, Happy Birthday Holy Day, at the gallery in Yogyakarta between February and March 2024. Not only his previous works but also the objects that the artist has collected since 2005 were on display, all printed in the form of large-sized stickers. The artist organized a month-long montage performance during the exhibit, peeling off the stickers as he comprehended stories that emerged through the images. Since he joined the residency in Fukuoka, his artworks have been developing continuously into more complicated, multi-layered structures.

A Story of the Triennale

Before the opening of the 4th Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale, we made the first open call for the exhibition poster design, targeting local art university students in Fukuoka. There were 116 applications in total. Many of them symbolically incorporated images of artworks from the show, the designs of which proved fresh ideas and imaginations of students. Among all, the one that applied the image of Stay Hungry by Angki Purbandono intrigued the eyes of many.
The selected design was widely distributed through posters, flyers, tickets, and the front cover of the exhibition catalogue. Stay Hungry became the representative figure of the Triennale.

Reconstructing Fukuoka Stories

After arriving in Fukuoka, Purbandono tried to look for the objects thrown on the streets just like he did in Indonesia. However, he could not find anything that caught his attention. Days after searching for rubbish and old items, he finally discovered an antique store in Nishi-ward in Fukuoka. Purbandono, hugely excited about this encounter, frequently visited the store and became friends with the shopkeeper. He was finally able to collect many things which he later incorporated into his work.

From series photographs “Memory”

From series photographs “Memory”

From series photographs “Memory”

Beyond the Reconstruction of a Story

Workshop: Let’s Make an Artwork with a Combinations of Toys!

September 7, 2009    134 fourth-grade students from Atago Elementary School
September 15, 2009    84 fifth-grade students from Hara Elementary School
September 28, 2009    92 sixth-grade students from Kego Elementary School

The artist organized the workshop with students of three elementary schools in Fukuoka, in which participants combined disposed toys to make a new artwork.
Several days after the workshop, a teacher from one of the schools happily told us that students felt their daily life can be more fun or interesting after joining the workshop with Purbandono, and the experience even changed their way to take notes during class.

Video Documentations of the artist’s solo exhibition, Happy Birthday Holy Day, held at Tirtodipuran Link Building B in Yogyakarta between February 24 and March 31, 2024

In this exhibition, large-sized stickers showing images of his works were displayed dating back from 2005 when he started working on scanography to the recent one. During the show, Purbandono conducted a month-long montage performance, in which he peeled off the stickers and applied on different places in the venue, creating new arrangements or stories. The artist attempts to explore new ways of expression using stickers by reconsidering his previous artistic practice, as he incorporates images of works including ones from his residency in Fukuoka.
The video features the recording of his montage performance, and gallery view photos from the Happy Birthday Holy Day exhibition.