YOGIE GINANJAR
ABSORPTION 9, 2019
Oil on Canvas
80 x 66cm
Edward Said’s Orientalism inspired many of the topics in Yogie’s paintings. The way western
thought process puts everything in binary opposition often stunts the possibility of tolerance and
mutual understanding. As exemplified in Ginanjar’s ‘Absorption’ series, the two tattoed figures
seem to embody polarizing values from the intricate traditional arabesque ornament before them,
and yet they seem to be in a state of calm. The artist reminds us as his audience to not be too
quick in classifying ideas as a binary opposition; to not be too quick to judge as things that might
seem contradictory could be harmonious.
