J'ai découvert les gravures sur bois de l'artiste indonésien Muhammad “UCUP” Yusuf en novembre à l'exposition "Catastrophe and the Power of Art" du Mori Museum à Roppongi. C'était de loin les œuvres les plus marquantes. Avec le collectif d'artistes activistes Taring Padi, militant pour les droits des paysans, il mêle la magie, l'horreur et la politique, avec une énergie noire rappelant les comix underground et la grande peinture révolutionnaire d'Amérique du sud.
MUHAMMAD “UCUP” YUSUF
A native of Yogyakarta, Muhammad “UCUP” Yusuf has been involved in artbased protests as part of the Taring Padi collective since the late 1990s. He
believes that art is an invaluable tool that fosters understanding and tolerance in
society. His newly created woodblocks and woodblock prints reveal his efforts
for social change while offering a glimpse of some of the rural communities
that are close to his heart. The intricately executed images narrate stories on
current disputes over land expropriation and illegal development in Indonesia.
Black Coal Dark Energy, for instance, refers to a recent debate about a coal
power plant in Central Java. It shows a sea of solemn-faced people beneath
angry signs with statements including “Don’t take our land” and “Why state
violence against own people.” A larger banner reads “Land and water, our flesh
and our blood, we take care until the end” echoing the resolution of the people.
The choice of medium of woodblock engravings is significant as throughout
history it has been harnessed to create political propaganda.
Muhammad “UCUP” Yusuf studied painting at the Indonesian Institute of Arts,
Yogyakarta, where he graduated in 2005. Alongside a number of prominent
private collections in Indonesia and abroad, his works are in the permanent
collections of the Palace Museum Yogyakarta, Indonesia; Singapore Art
Museum; Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Japan; and the Queensland Art Gallery
of Australia. His work has been exhibited at such institutions as the Museum
of Contemporary Art Lyon, France; Yokohama Museum of Art, Japan; and the
Jogja National Museum, Indonesia.
Born in Lumajang, Indonesia, 1975 | Lives and works in Yogyakarta
Extrait du catalogue REV | ACTION, CONTEMPORARY ART FROM SOUTHEAST ASIA, curated by Loredana Pazzini-Paracciani. Sundaram Tagore Gallery, 2015
le site de Taring Padi
