Virtually encountering the images of Eko Nugroho
By Clara Che Wei Peh

Installation view of ‘Lost in Parody’, 2020 at Arario Gallery, Seoul. Image courtesy of Arario Gallery.

Clicking into Arario Gallery’s virtual tour of ‘Lost in Parody’, Indonesian artist Eko Nugroho’s second solo exhibition in Seoul, Korea, I immediately encountered an instructional page on how to navigate my way around the digital space. Two options are given: the use of designated letters and directional keys on the keyboard, or the use of the mouse to click and drag one’s way around the gallery. Much like a role-play game (RPG), my “character” was able to roam about the gallery freely, as though I were physically immersed in the space myself. Unable to visit the exhibition in Seoul, the virtual tour became my next best option.

‘Lost in Parody’ features over 20 new and recent works by the internationally acclaimed artist, with the medium used ranging from large-scale embroidery works to acrylic on canvas to ecoline on paper. Upon “entering” the gallery, I could head upstairs to where the acrylic pieces are displayed, or down to the basement, where the artist’s embroidery paintings are shown. I start from the bottom, eager to encounter the embroidery paintings that have become a significant medium in Nugroho’s oeuvre. He first began to work with embroidery in 2007, in collaboration with a small village in Indonesia that continues to practice and preserve traditional techniques. This collaboration not only revitalises traditional businesses, but also helps to ignite interest and engagement with local cultures and art forms, as Nugroho interweaves them with contemporary art.

Eko Nugroho, ‘A Pot Full of Peace Spells’, 2018, embroidered painting, 275 x 316cm. Image courtesy of Arario Gallery.

The first artwork that catches my eyes, and my favourite in the exhibition, ‘A Pot Full of Peace Spells’, hangs directly across the basement’s entrance. Its explosive use of colours and breath-taking details speak out to me right away. The painting depicts four masked figures - Nugroho’s signature motif - crowding around a red pot bubbling over with a mysterious liquid. As the title suggests, the peculiar cloud of neon green mist is the physical manifestation of peace spells that have been cast, presumably by these four individuals. Wrapped within vibrantly coloured plants that bear resemblances to exotic succulents and peacock tails, the four are nearly swallowed whole by their fantastical surroundings.

Instead of capturing a moment in which the peace spells have been successfully cast and the world is transformed, Nugroho’s painting holds us hostage before we are able to witness the spells’ effects. We never find out if the magic is successful, and if it is, what peace will look like for a world that has rarely known it. From the blue spotted branches tightly wrapped around the leftmost figure’s prayer palms and the sword that the rightmost figure clasps with both hands, however, one can deduce, that even if the spells achieve the unachievable, peace will not remain the permanent state of our world.

Curious to find out more about ‘A Pot Full of Peace Spells’ and how the painting was conceived, I turned towards the tour’s accompanying audio guide. On top of providing more context about the artist and his motivations behind the artworks, the audio guide also offers an opportunity to engage in dialogue over how the artwork is interpreted. The visitor is then given the agency to play and pause the guide as she pleases, repeating the voice segment again and again if it is needed, to slowly discern what is relevant and important for her and what is less so.

Eko Nugroho, ‘War is Another Meet and Greet Moment’, 2019, acrylic on canvas, 200 x 200cm, exhibition installation view. Image courtesy of Arario Gallery.

Over three metres in length and two metres in height, I imagine that ‘A Pot Full of Peace Spells’ would have towered over me, should I have had the chance to view it in person. Its sheer size might have compelled me to move a few feet backwards, in order to take in the full time. Then I would go up-close, to observe the intricate textures of the embroidery. Instead, on the virtual tour, I click on the floor closer to the painting to zoom in.

Similarly skeptical of fantasisations towards an idyllic world, ‘Spitting Our Brain for Better Future’ (2018) and the five-part series ‘Love’ (2019), also displayed in the basement level, ask challenging questions about the political structures we operate within and the ways in which we interact with one another. And up on the second level of the gallery are his acrylic paintings, including ‘War is Another Meet and Greet Moment’ (2019), which draws attention to the chilling recognition that war and conflict often arise from global powers attempting to demonstrate their political and military powers to each other, more than anything else.

Veiled behind a vibrant visual language that takes inspiration from street art, graffiti and comics, Nugroho’s images present salient social commentaries that call into question universal values, such as love, peace and democracy. Given the complexity of layers behind Nugroho’s fantastical artworks, I am grateful for the virtual exhibition format. While I am unable to enjoy the tactility of the embroidery paintings, I was given the freedom to interact with the exhibition on multiple levels.

At the end of the exhibition, I simply close the tab, transporting myself back from Nugroho’s mesmerizing images to my physical reality, where it is warm and humid once more.

‘Lost in Parody’ at Arario Gallery, Seoul is on view from 1 September to 24 November 2020. Click here to find out more.