poster

personaa

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persona-5a

persona-6a

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OPENING
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
07.30 PM
Ruang MES 56
Jl. Nagan Lor 17, Patehan, Kraton,
Yogyakarta
Opening act: Food & Cooking performance with Chef Pical, Laki Bini Resto, Chef Jimbo and DJ Dolly!

Exhibition ends
March 18, 2009

ARTIST TALK
Monday, March 23, 2009
07.30 PM
Ruang MES 56
Jl. Nagan Lor 17, Patehan, Kraton,
Yogyakarta

ARTIST STATEMENT
In “Persona”, I extend my research on “being” and “appearing” while focusing on the ritual usage and, especially, on the conception of the mask.

“Persona” originates from the decontextualisation of my identity triggered by my stay in Indonesia. The transition period between two different life contexts enticed me to wonder about the representation of my own identity outside its context of origin.

Thus, I wanted to extract all contextual references out of the mask, conceived as a tool of both change of identity and revelation of identity.

By placing my hands over my face in different configurations, I have therefore created my own game of masks. These masks are constructed from the different facets of my personality, to which I added a number of visual symbols at the time of conception.

The very gesture of hiding my face reveals my identity.

As a complement to “Persona”, I created “WanderWall” , a wall made of body parts as a direct picture of the symbolic weight of the other parts of the body besides the face. For example, the torso, carrier of the classical characteristics of Western masculinity, is used as an element of wall construction, is used as a brick. And, through these bricks, my body speaks.

But my body lies.

Because this wall is only an inert surface, it only has a visual density. And is incapable of withstanding the environment which surrounds it.

ABOUT BENJAMIN MILOUX
This 22 years old guy is in his first year of taking a Master degree at Ecole Supérieure d’Art de Grenoble, Grenoble, France, actively doing research on humanity, its connection with environment and himself through Sociology, Anthropology, and also through the exploration on visual and audiovisual images.

He is currently participating in a residency program in Yogyakarta for 6 months in cooperation with Lembaga Indonesia Prancis Yogyakarta.

The works try to question the frontiers implemented by humanity to differentiate itself from nature. By asking such questions, he hopes it will allow him to know better not only where mankind stands in this world but also where he himself stands. The frontiers between species, the definition of a landscape, and the appropriation of nature by human beings can be questioned. One of the subjects of his reflection is the frontiers that humanity has implemented in its social behavior in order to get out of animalism and thus become “civilized”. In such context, his objective is to study the techniques used daily by human beings in order to preserve a certain idea of civilization and to secure the harmony within human society.

From this experience in residency, and after the presentation of his work he made at mes 56, he opened the frontiers of his researchs. The confrontation of his reflections and many different Indonesian’s points of view, during his presentation, generate a lot of questions.

Persona is the first result of these questions.