Humans can be very vulnerable and at the same time very strong, the description of the continuation of the actual meaning is also not very clear because there is no clear boundary about it. Quoting what Neitzhe said that a strong person is not only to give but also to receive tragedy1, because whatever the classification limit set that an individual is a strong or vulnerable person both have a portion that if drawn further elaboration we will even get to a very blurred point where that point does not become a definition of both. The initial idea is a shaper for us to ask more deeply whether we already know enough about the portion given to us, to always make us grateful, or even we never realize that we are increasingly removed from the circulation of the reality of truth to be able to ask the nature of right and wrong itself.

We go about our daily activities, doing the routine of work to fulfill our needs, to satisfy our desires, of course there is nothing wrong in this practice, but isn’t this practice not entirely correct, I am just using a vote of no confidence in what is considered normal today. There are many interesting findings related to the routines that humans often do, activities that are done over and over again for the reason of fulfilling needs, are they all like that? Of course not all routines are done for this reason, humans become organic robots whose programs can be updated through orders, through a system that is centralized in councils that are authorized to change programs, central command becomes absolute in the name of job security, the establishment achieved.

Actualizing should at least be done as a solution to the confusion of thinking that occurs or at least be the most reasonable escape for all the programs that are implanted in each of us today, do we currently have a picture of what kind of activism is capable of being a solution to our current condition, after all we live with problems that are limited to each of us and must be resolved individually as well, is that right? This is a personal problem that must be resolved personally or this is actually part of a bigger problem over our restraint of social movement patterns.

There is no solution that we can do, what we can do is to keep going like a bow and arrow, moving forward by pushing the rules that have touched until we reach the target point, and the target point is of course the spiritual point.

We cannot escape the cultural roots where we live in the majority with a religious society (religious in any religion), which has roots so strongly related to spirituality that we will indirectly be carried away to follow the flow until we become humans with perfect minds and question all spiritual sides that refer to religion. There are many questions about the truth of this point because we know this point is the target of every bow that is released, everyone has the same opportunity to ask and find out, but sometimes there are some who choose to turn their backs, trying to get the bow to return to where it was released, it is very natural and very human. “Where did I come from?” or ‘Where am I going?’ will go unanswered, getting answers to these questions is even more important than getting daily food, eating and drinking are actions in a short life that are meaningless compared to eternity, the highest desire of every human being².

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In the GRESART 0.1 exhibition, the theme discussed is SPIRIT(ACT)UAL, which can be sorted into three words: spirit, spiritual, and actual. The division of discourse into units that are not in the form of oeuvres, and with that sole creation, we begin by constructing a whole series of concepts (discursive formations, posivity, archives)³.

Spirit represents the spirit that must be possessed by every human being, being the reason for living life and all the activities that occur in it, humans become fully human when they have a purpose that underlies every activity they do, every activity that represents that they live and move to live the environment, or at least the environment in the smallest scope around them.

The second is spirituality, which is something that is associated with psychology and spirituality, a state that draws where our position is conscious or not, many explanations related to the spirituality of a human being reveal that spirituality is a dimension that is owned by each individual differently but leads to something transcendential as explained by Piedmont, while according to Wigglesworth (in Schreurs: 2002), spirituality has two components, namely vertical and horizontal:

The vertical component, which is something sacred, unlimited by time and place, a higher power, a source, an extraordinary consciousness. The desire to connect with and be guided by this source.
The horizontal component is to serve one’s fellow human beings and the planet as a whole. (http:/google.com/usu)4.
Just as an artist when processing in his work he will try to enter a dimension where he can be a free person to truly express himself as a whole force, to produce an idealistic work. Idealism is a word that is very familiar to an artist, an artist will be able to produce weighty works when he has an idealistic nature in his work where he has his own measure of the components of the work he produces, which is unique and unique to him, through many angles, whether it is aesthetics, ideas, techniques, or so on.

The spiritual side is closely related to religious matters because it is related to psychology and spirituality, as we said in the previous paragraph that the target of a bow that is released is the spiritual side itself, we need to make a clear picture of the point or not at all to be able to proceed with certainty, to be able to choose correctly. Returning to the discussion that the spiritual side is part of the theme of this exhibition is not only intended for artists to explore as far as possible their sensibilities in terms of psychology and spirituality into a work, but actually this selection was also chosen because of the strong relationship between the area where this exhibition is held and the religious side, especially Islam. Because the city of Gresik itself has a long history related to the spread of Islam in Java or even Indonesia, the proof is the existence of the tomb of Sunan Giri, and several other figures who are considered to have an influence on the spread of Islam in Java. This is not just history but until now the city of Gresik has become a very religious city with the intensity of religious activities in it.

The direction of the actual form that wants to be presented is how the artists involved are able to present works that can represent the actual itself, whether from the idea of the work, from the media used, techniques and so on. Moreover, to be an artist today with the rapid advancement of technology, the artist must be able to keep up by presenting works that are able to speak at the right time, presenting content that is appropriate to the times and making the work well received by its appreciators.

If interpreted together and arranged in such a way, the spirit(act)ual theme is to collectively actualize ourselves as human beings which can be done in various ways, starting from the most sensitive approach, namely psychology, spirituality, or even more global forms of actualization such as updating work and so on. Because we must realize that when we organize steps for the future, our gaze must be forward as well, we must see the pattern of the trajectory so that we can walk with the approach to arrive fastest, when this is really neatly arranged then what is aspired will be achieved.

Initial power map

Gresik is organizing itself to become an art power that should be considered on a regional and national scale, if we look at the potential of the art actors in it we will find people who have strong works, have their own uniqueness, have many things that are not inferior when compared to other cities.

The fact is that today Gresik city has many artists who have great potential, but the homework that must be done is how to distribute information about these artists to a wider field so that information about the strengths that are built does not only become consumption in the local realm. So who should do this distribution? The ones who should distribute the information are the artists themselves, of course, but it is even more ideal when they are in groups and then divide the tasks according to their respective portions to succeed in the distribution pattern so that what is done by artists in Gresik City can be widely read. This is indeed a tough homework for artists to do independently but it must be organized little by little to be able to achieve this, if we talk about this as the government’s duty to nourish the art ecosystem in Gresik I think it is inappropriate, the government has too many interests and the accuracy of a sweet plan promised is usually very small, so in my opinion it would be very good when artists are able to be independent to be able to lift themselves up and be taken into account.

With the theme raised in this exhibition, it is actually an effort to feel where the direction of Gresik art is and then formulate the right steps to go further, so far I have never found a stretch of art that becomes a tongak in the city of Gresik, so far what has happened is that the existing art event has only become an event which then when the event is over then the information will be lost in time, nothing is able to become a truly strong foundation to be seen as a symbol. Presumably in this exhibition, the organizers will use it as a momentum to create a strong foundation for Gresik’s fine arts, and the results can be used as a reference for the next step.

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In my several visits to the city of Gresik to look for material to write curatorial essays, I visited the studios of several exhibitors and I was very satisfied with the aesthetic achievements made by friends in Gresik, the work produced by artists in Gresik exceeded my expectations in a positive value, I think the work of Gresik artists is something that can explode at any time when it is properly distributed.

This is not only the case in Gresik, but I believe that there are many other cities that actually have strong art potential but still have not emerged, we can do a simple analysis of this phenomenon, the thing that makes a region unable to bring out the strength of its art to the fullest is because of the lack of containers that accommodate artists to distribute information about their work, when the number of containers and the time of their implementation are uncertain then we will not be able to expect much with this kind of movement pattern. It’s not just a matter of facilities or infrastructure that makes this kind of event rare, but artists must also be encouraged to produce works so that they can mobilize and support their ecosystem.

Works in Exhibition

This exhibition will be attended by 17 artists who passed the initial selection, yes indeed this event is planned to be the first step of more sophisticated artistic activities in Gresik, therefore a curation process is held to select works that will participate in the exhibition. In the process of selecting the works, the focus was; 1. Works that meet the aesthetic standards aspired to by the exhibition, and 2. Works that in the next 2 months are able to develop, and adjust to the theme of the exhibition. Of the 33 people who submitted applications, 17 were selected to participate in the exhibition.

This exhibition has something interesting to offer the artists involved, the exhibition is conceptualized as a joint solo exhibition, meaning that each artist will be given a space of 2×3 m, and then the space can be treated freely by the artist. This exhibition will be a summary of 17 solo exhibitions held at the same time and place.

The portion of the works displayed is indeed more 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional, but the form of installation works and space response-based works will be found in this exhibition, because the title is a joint solo exhibition so that all artists involved are able to explore to the maximum using the space provided.

Aries Daboel, for example, combines 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional works with a touch of technology, In the display of his work, Aris Daboel will display 3 paintings and added with a multimedia installation in the form of a supine statue and from inside his mouth will be shot a projector containing a video as a sign and a sign of the story of Adam and Eve.

In fact, the signifier and the sign form a sign and this is what becomes a signifier for a different sign and a sign in the original language. In terms of myth, the signifier (which is the sign in the original language) is called the form, while the sign is the concept and the resulting sign comes from the process of feeling5.

During the two months of preparation for the exhibition, Aam significantly revamped the visuals of her work. In his new work that will be displayed in the Gresart exhibition this time Aam makes paintings by piling many objects into canvas media, Aam seems to do collage but not with digital media he does it manually with painting techniques, the themes raised by Aam in his works that will be exhibited at Gresart are works that are closely related to spirituality, something religious, When drawn from the roots of the Gresik region, we know that Gresik is a religious city because of its Islamic culture, maybe this is one of the reasons Aam chose something religious to be displayed in his work, the ambiguity displayed in the painting tells about the contemplation he did, we will find the religious side in all parts of ourselves or even the environment if we really open our eyes. Aam also combines spiritual values with psycodelic visuals that are usually symbolic of transcendent forms, transcendent itself is a position between conscious and unconscious that relates to the religious side in a broad sense.

The two examples of works that I have described above are only one example of the works that will be displayed in this Gresart 0.1 exhibition, the other works are also works that have their own strengths.

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Hopefully this exhibition can be the beginning of what Gresik artists aspire to, keep moving to live the art ecosystem in Gresik city to be healthier and healthier, when from the inside it is neat and healthy, to spread information out will be something that must be done, rumored as widely as possible so that it can be read as one of the strengths of art.

1. Kutipan buku Birth of Tragedy, Neitzhe
2.Taslaman Caner, Miracle of the Quran (Turki, 2006), 25
3. Foucault Michele, the Archaeology of Knowledge (New York, 1976), 243
Oeuvre / oeu·vre /ˈəvrə,ˈo͞ovrə/ —- the works of a painter, composer, or author regarded collectively.
4. Penjelasan oleh Piedmont dan Wigglesworth diambil dari laman http://infodanpengertian.blogspot.co.id/2016/02/pengertian-spiritualitas-menurut-para.html
5. Berger Arthur Asa, Pengantar semiotika ‘Tanda-Tanda Dalam Kebudayaan Kontemporer’ (Yogyakarta, 2010), 67

• Written as a curatorial introduction to the exhibition entitled Spirit(ac)ual
• 2-7 ocktober 2016
• At GEDUNG WAHANA EKSPRESI PUSPONEGORO (WEP) GRESIK