Motorbike, sunrise, Borobodur and Mendut. It was amazing to watch Mt. Merapi simmer while the sun was rising. The motobike ride was approximately 2 hrs by and Gede (my tour guide) was fantastic. After Borbudur, Gede took me to Candi Mendut…another Buddhist temple/monument. On the way back he took the back roads – farmland and countryside galore, with roads barely wide enough for motorbikes…totally breathtaking.
we had the privilege of Nano taking us to his show near Semerang (about 2hrs outside of Yogya). The gallery – Lenggeng Gallery – was attached to the owner/collectors’ house..actually his Megelang house (one of a few). The estate/gallery was amazing and hidden within a neighborhood (similar to where the Contemporary Museum in Hawaii was located). The exhibit was fantastic – I was blown away by his skill, prolific-ness and the cleverness. I appreciated the humor in the anti-hero subtext – how he was able to turn obvious superhero icons into sinister bad guys they constantly battle. Anyways – have a look at the pictures and you could see more here
we did a jamu workshop through Via Via…totally interesting. jamu is considered the traditional medicine of Indonesia – read more here. Wiwit was our wonderful guide. We started off at a “contemporary” jamu shop and ended up at Tyaz’s house for a “real” sampling of how they actually mash up the roots and herbs…..as well as a massage from a blind woman. It seemed to me that they use tumeric for many many reasons…from healing of cramps to well being. it was the first time I experienced tumeric in its natural form (used to seeing it as a powder). Wiwit shared stories and remedies for certain ailments or rituals – two interesting ones were their “lovemaking” rituals. for this it is imperative for the woman to have a dry vagina – they have liquids and herbs (consisting of white galaangal) that women ingest to help with this, as well as “salt” sticks that women put up themselves to totally dry out. And the other “remedy” is how they perform abortions..apparently the person performing this – has the woman ingest baby pineapples and massages her until the fetus is aborted…but not until s/he poke her with a branch from a special tree…OUCH.
here’s a little sampling of the spaces and work going on here. Â The spaces are: Cemeti Art House, Sangkring Art Space, Kedai Kabun, Tembi Contemporary Art Gallery. (Via Via is another space..though Via Via will have its own post)
