〇 is Bagus Pandega’s second solo exhibition with the gallery which features a cycle of new and earlier artworks throughout his career that concerns energy, resources, and biofeedback.
At the heart of Pandega's many artworks is a disruption of mechanical and industrial systems, suggesting new ways of relating to technology. Through multimedia installations featuring light and sound, Pandega explores recycled materials and circular economies with an inquisitive, do-it-yourself approach. The artworks often employ a modular logic, assembling different elements to form new notions. Circles recur as a motif, appearing formally and conceptually. Chemical components and biofeedback from plants urge viewers to reconsider their relationships with nature and technology. Throughout the exhibition, Pandega makes the case for a more pluralistic way of understanding the tools we use to shape the world around us.
The exhibition’s title can be pronounced as lingkaran, an Indonesian term for “circle.”
Artist
Born 1985, Jakarta, Indonesia
Lives and works in Bandung, Indonesia
Working primarily through the medium of installation, Bagus Pandega often challenges pre-conditioned relationships between objects and its viewer. In his works, Pandega assembles various electronic systems as ‘modules’ and explores objects such as voice recorders, cassette and record players, lamps and electronic circuit boards— among others— to construct his works. Many of his artworks become activated through the interaction of movement, sound and light.
Pandega received his Bachelor of Arts, majoring in sculpture and his Master of Fine Arts from the Faculty of Art and Design, Bandung Institute of Technology, Bandung, Indonesia in 2008 and 2015 respectively. His special solo project Stomata is currently on view at Esplanade Concourse, Singapore (2024-25). Pandega’s selected solo exhibitions include 〇 at ROH, Jakarta, Indonesia (2024); A Pervasive Rhythm at Yamamoto Gendai, Tokyo, Japan (2018); Random Black at ROH Projects, Jakarta, Indonesia (2016); and A Monument That Tells Anything at Cemeti Art House, Yogyakarta, Indonesia (2015). Selected group exhibitions include Art Basel Hong Kong with ROH, Hong Kong (2023); The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial at QAGOMA, Brisbane, Australia (2021-22); Tiger Orchid presented at Art Basel OVR: Miami Beach (2020); Condo London at Project Native Informant, London, UK (2020); Ripples: Continuity in Indonesian Contemporary Art at Taipei Dangdai, Taipei, Taiwan (2019); Distorted Alteration at Project Fulfill, Taipei, Taiwan (2018); Amsterdam Light Festival, Amsterdam, the Netherlands (2017); and Clandestine Transgression at Art Basel Hong Kong: Discoveries with ROH Projects, Hong Kong (2015). After winning third place at Bandung Contemporary Art Awards #2, Pandega completed his first residency at Le Centre Intermondes, La Rochelle, France in 2012. A nominee of the 2016 Sovereign Art Prize, Pandega had also collaborated with Adi Purnomo and Irwan Ahmett in presenting Freedome, Indonesia Pavilion at the London Design Biennale: Utopia by Design in 2016.
Bagus Pandega is a close collaborator of Kei Imazu. Their collaborative work has been presented at various international group exhibitions, including Bangkok Art Biennale: Nurture Gaia in Bangkok, Thailand (2024); WAGIWAGI at documenta fifteen, Hübner areal, Kassel, Germany (2022); Declaring Distance: Bandung — Leiden at Selasar Sunaryo Art Space, Bandung, Indonesia (2022); and AAAAHHH!!! Paris Internationale, Paris, France (2018).
View Artist9 March 2024.
9 Maret 2024.
Ignatius Nawa Tunggal, Kompas.com. 10 March 2024.
Hidayat Adhiningrat P., Majalah Gatra. 20 March 2024.
Dian Yuliastuti, Majalah Tempo. 15-21 April 2024.
Agus Dwi Prasetyo, Jawa Pos. 5 May 2024.
Copyright belongs to The Artist
Essay by Harry Burke
Photography by ROH
Courtesy of The Artist and ROH