Selintas Selalu
kinetic light installation
Year: 2024
Materials: Stainless Steel, Fabric, Electronics
Size: 470 cm x 260cm x 250cm (excluding lamps)
Selintas Selalu is a kinetic light installation by Vincent Ruijters. The installation invites contemplation on heritage, displacement, and belonging. Looking at how ancestral culture and migration ripples into the present to shape ones constantly evolving identity. The artwork is based on the artists intensive research in Indonesia into his Chinese-Indonesian roots, finding the fused aesthetics of these cultures that define the form and materials of the artwork. A complex interplay of light, shadow, and fabric—suspended from a steel structure—envisions the shape of mixed-identity and ancestry.
Curatorial statement by Evelyn Huang
Vincent's residency was not merely a geographical relocation but an emotional and intellectual pilgrimage to understand his ancestral roots. His mother’s migration story is emblematic of many Chinese Indonesians who sought refuge and a new beginning in foreign lands. For Vincent, this personal history became a focal point, prompting him to investigate the broader narratives of Chinese Indonesian identity. The exhibition "Selintas Selalu" captures the essence of these explorations, presenting a nuanced narrative that intertwines personal memory with collective history.
Vincent's methodology during his residency was rigorous and immersive. He engaged in extensive interviews with individuals from the Chinese Indonesian community, capturing their stories, experiences, and perspectives. These narratives were complemented by field research, where Vincent visited significant historical sites and cultural landmarks. He visited places where a hybrid culture influenced by Chinese is celebrated and became an aesthetic standard such as Betawi, Benteng and Lasem. Group discussions facilitated a deeper understanding of contemporary views and shared experiences, while intensive workshops allowed for collaborative creation and exchange of ideas. These diverse activities provided Vincent with an overwhelming flow of information and emotional resonance, which he skillfully wove into his media installations.
Dark red colour dominates the piece inspired by Batik Lasem colour, displayed in seemingly thin form of clothes hanging from a root-like steel structure. We can find hints of visual aesthetics from his findings such as “kembang kelapa”-shaped steel and light installation. “Kawung” shape that is common in Javanese Batik that reminds people not to forget their origins appears to be in the foundation part of his installation. Light, shadow and movement plays an important part as they pass the hanging clothes in the short term as if feelings of longing can come and go in a glance. All elegantly connected but also clashed upon one another in order to show sense of complexity.
Stuart Hall suggests that identity is not a fixed or singular entity but a multifaceted construct shaped by historical, social, and cultural contexts. Identity, according to Hall, is a process of continuous negotiation and renegotiation of meaning. Vincent's media installations embody this concept, using visual signs and symbols to represent the fluid and dynamic nature of identity. His artworks highlight the diversity and complexity of Chinese Indonesian identity. Through this lens, "Selintas Selalu'' becomes a space where identities are not blatantly displayed but questioned and redefined. While Vincent as a diaspora searches for his roots, Indonesian Chinese communities in Indonesia are also diaspora in the process of building their roots in regards to decades of political oppression and turmoil. He may not display findings of validation or assurance in an archive-like manner, but the complex nature of identity that is more relevant in contemporary lifestyle. As Edmund Husserl see it, identity is not only what something is physically, but how it appears to one’s consciousness. Our identity can focus on how we experience and perceive the essence of things. In this sense, Vincent’s experience during his residency plays an important role in how he identifies and relates to insights and aesthetics he found aside from physical attribution detected in his work. The eerie feeling of meeting strangers with shared history, the joy of sharing anecdotes about Chinese parenting style with fellow millennials, the sense of displacement when entering historical place of his own interest, the longing search for good food, as common as it sounds, it is what builds his subjective relation to his roots.
"Selintas Selalu" is a cultural inquiry and a personal odyssey. Vincent Ruijters' work challenges viewers to reconsider the narratives of identity and heritage, prompting a deeper understanding of the forces that shape our sense of self. The exhibition offers a nuanced exploration of Chinese Indonesian experiences, past and present. Vincent's media installations stand as powerful testaments to the resilience and dynamism of cultural identity. By weaving together historical traumas and contemporary realities, "Selintas Selalu" creates a space for contemplation, dialogue, and healing. It invites us to acknowledge the past, understand the present, and envision a future where identities are celebrated in all their complexity and richness.
Supported by: Creative Industries Fund NL, Gudskul, HONF