Statues in Galnas Freeing Oneself from the Shackles of Routine

Name: Statues in Galnas Freeing Oneself from the Shackles of Routine
Uploaded: 2024-07-27T12:11:53Z
Duration: 20 min 32 s
Description: Making sculptures is not just art. For some people, sculpting is an “escape” from routine.

Making sculptures is not just art. For some people, sculpting is an “escape” from routine.

This article has been translated using AI. See Original .

TATANG MULYANA SINAGA

· 5 minutes read

The scorching heat hits Jakarta on Saturday (27/7/2024). The sun is right above. Hundreds of people brave the hot weather to spend the weekend at the National Gallery (Galnas). Some of them get lost in filthy activities to break free from the shackles of daily routines.

White stains of leftover dried clay are still sticking to Amandanu Bramantya's (23) fingers. His eyes stare sharply at a statue in the form of a mermaid on the table. A piece of bamboo is scratched to create the shape of hair. Two hours ago, the statue was just a piece of clay.

In terms of visual and anatomical completeness, the 30-centimeter-tall statue has many shortcomings. The shape of its eyes and mouth is unclear. The proportion of the head and body dimensions is also not proportional.

Understandably, Amandanu is not a sculptor. The mermaid statue is the first sculpture in her life. This first experience was obtained in the sculpture workshop, painting, and engraving in the exhibition “Sculpture and Activism: Dolorosa Sinaga and Budi Santoso”. The exhibition runs until August 19, 2024.

In fact, it has been about 10 years since the medical students at the University of Indonesia's Faculty of Medicine last touched clay soil. In recent months, they have been busy following a residency program at a hospital in Jakarta.

"In addition to channeling creativity, participating in this sculpture workshop is also a way to break free from routine. Even if only for a moment, it is very useful to refresh the mind," he said.

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In creating sculptures, Amandanu is not bound by art conventions. His ideas flow freely and are then realized in the form of the statue object.

The planning process for creating sculptures does not always go smoothly. "The initial idea was actually not to create a mermaid statue. However, because I had difficulty making the legs, the lower part was made to look like a fish tail. That's why it ended up looking like a mermaid," he said, accompanied by laughter.

Making sculptures is quite fun. Because, he is free to pour the ideas in his head into a work.

For Amandanu, creating a sculpture is more than just being creative. For two hours, he practices patience and emotional management. This is because, if he is in a hurry, some parts of the sculpture, such as the hands, are prone to breaking because they are not strong enough to adhere to the larger parts of the body.

"And for those two hours, you can also get away from your gadget. So, this workshop also trains focus. After finishing, you can then use your phone to take pictures of the results (sculpture)," he said.

Attending a workshop on making sculptures also turned into a "escape" for Mildah (24) to break away from her daily routine. Every morning, from Monday to Friday, she has to squeeze into the electric train (KRL) compartments from her house in Bogor to her office in Kalibata, Jakarta.

"I almost always don't get a seat. The same goes for when I go home from the office, I always stand on the commuting train. So, the work routine is very tiring. That's why refreshing on weekends is important," he said.

That afternoon, a civil servant in one of the ministries created a statue with a protest theme. The main object of the statue was a figure delivering a speech.

The figure raises his left hand. While his right hand holds a book. Around him are six other figures in the form of human heads.

Mildah said the idea for the statue just came to her. She just remembered her friends from college when they were protesting.

"My friends used to always raise and clench their left hands during demonstrations. That memory came to mind and I tried to make a statue of it," he said.

According to Mildah, making statues is quite enjoyable. Because, he is free to pour his ideas in his head into a work of art. The two hours spent also felt very short.

"Perhaps workshops like this can be a way to prevent stress. We create while having fun. The quality of the resulting work is not the primary concern," he explained.

Increasing space for creativity

During the workshop, Budi Santoso wandered around approaching participants who were staring at clay sculptures. He engaged in dialogue with the participants several times, especially since many of them spent too long contemplating before starting their work.

Budi emphasized that inspiration for making sculptures can come from anywhere. The easiest way is to shape one's own body. This is because almost every day, people look in the mirror and pay attention to the shape of their own bodies.

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At another table, Dolorosa Sinaga moved from seat to seat accompanying workshop participants in creating sculptures from aluminum foil. She urged the participants not to hesitate or be afraid in shaping the aluminum foil.

“Don’t hesitate. Don’t be afraid of tearing the aluminum foil. If it’s not right, try again. If you can, keep repeating,” he said.

According to Budi, many young people are interested in learning to sculpt. However, the space for sculpting creativity, such as holding workshops, needs to be increased.

"Spaces like this need to continue to be nurtured. Sculpting is like taking us back to childhood to do enjoyable things. Art also refreshes the mind," he said.

Editor:

ALOYSIUS BUDI KURNIAWAN

Statues in Galnas Freeing Oneself from the Shackles of Routine

About AI Translated Article

Increasing space for creativity