Crossing boundaries: Art, criticism and word‐play on the archipelago

After the ruptures of Indonesia’s Reformasi period (1998–), contemporary art from the late 2000s onward is marked by an enthusiastic expansion from historical precedents. Reviewing the past and rethinking the future has given form to a distinct ‘turn’ toward narrative, as art’s capacity for storytelling generates an elasticity and resistance: a tension that is apparent in acts of writing-into-art from multiple perspectives. It stretches beyond visual art, crossing disciplinary boundaries into theory, curatorship and criticism, beyond static, conventional forms of writing into lively modes of enquiry. Several contemporary Indonesian art(s) initiatives present experiments in the fluid space‑between‑disciplines, resulting in significant additions to the current state of Indonesia’s art discourse by extending dialogue on the relationship between art, text and the public sphere in Indonesia’s art discourse.