SACRED LANDSCAPE EXHIBITION

Through this exhibition we try to present works of Land Affairs Study Agency since 2017 to government institutions and residents of Jatiwangi through an exhibition entitled Sacred Landscape at the Land Culture Museum which was opened and inaugurated by the Governor of West Javw – Ridwan Kamil, and continued with a series of seminars. The word Sacred/Keramat is originally from Arabic ‘Karomah’, which means respect/glorification, is used as a way to thinking the area that becomes the location of artistic experimentation on the Jatiwangi cultural landscape.                                                                        

The presented works included a study of the Wates village – Jatisura Village which had land conflicts, a soil laboratory in collaboration with the School of Design – Pelita Harapan University, as well as an artist residency involving four research / arts groups namely, KKK (ID), live .make.share (VNM), Arisan Tenggara (SEA), and Spice Embassy (ID).

The entire program was also part of a parallel event of the Indonesian Contemporary Ceramics Biennale, which carries the idea of a Terracotta City. A long-term aspiration of the Jatiwangi art Factory. Regarding how the development of the Jatiwangi region whose geographical context for decades is the locus of the tile industry, so long history and also the sufficiency of material, can take a role in the development of Jatiwangi which is currently projected as an industrial city.

To prepare the idea of Terracotta City, BKP also initiated a seminar involving government institutions. Entitled ‘Land Culture on Spatial Planning’ which focuses on discussing the possibility of the realization of Terracotta City through synergy between the community and government. The seminar was opened by the keynote speaker Ridwan Kamil, Governor of West Java.

The Kampung Study (Wates – Jatisura) exhibits a collection of archives and residues from the cultural activities of the Land Affair Study Agency with Wates residents that have been occurred so far. Which has been carried out as an effort to make a cultural claim to the land which since 1950 was claimed by the Air Force.

The Soil Lab is dedicated to exploring the possibilities of creating forms, designs, formulas, of Jatiwangi land which is currently the main ingredient in the manufacture of tiles and bricks. The initial project of this laboratory was a collaboration with the School of Design – Universitas Pelita Harapan, creating a modular design of soil that carries the theme ‘Module for the Future’. In July 2019, the results of this project will be manifested in the form of a museum in Kampung Wates.

Artist residency was directed to respond directly to the theme Terracotta City carried by the International Contemporary Ceramics Biennale, where the Jatiwangi art Factory was appointed as the organizer. KKK (ID) in collaboration with BAPPELITBANGDA (the Regional City Planning of Majalengka) initiated several forums which became a series of city planning instruments. The forum tried a model of conversation, analysis, as well as a projection of Jatiwangi space through the personal stories of citizens in each life cycle. The collection (complexity) of life details that should not be missed in formal planning and spatial planning documents, be it the Regional Spatial Planning (RTRW) or Spatial Detail Plan (RDTR).

The live.make.share (VNM) group consisting of Elise Luong and Fransesco Montresor through 10 days residency making important notes poured into several documents, regarding the distribution of interests between various development subjects such as; Community, Government and Private (Investor), to be studied and continued by the Land Affair Study Agency and Jatiwangi Art Factory in realizing the planning of the Terracotta City. The notes based on their experience of living and working in a village near Hanoi which has a strong agrarian culture and is also an industrial village. The landscape is similar to Jatiwangi now and in the future.

While the other two groups, Arisan Tenggara and Rempah Embassy, map important subjects in Jatiwangi other than humans and natural resources. Arisan Tenggara traces sacred sites. Sacred sites – which have historical backgrounds and genealogical ties as ancestors of citizens – can be important stakeholders of regional planning. Spice Embassy map the spice trees that have lived in past tales and myths through the pilgrimage method, which today has lost its meaning in the middle of the industrialization of the Jatiwangi region. Involving some Islamic religious leaders, Spice Embassy revives ethical discourse on the environment and healthy lifestyle, through processing spices into beverage products.

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