There Is No Center

There is no centre arrives not as a conventional presentation of artworks, but as an event in the truest sense—a disturbance in the usual flow of time. Extending beyond the gallery’s familiar five-week format, the twelve-week-long exhibition challenges the static nature of traditional exhibition-making, embracing a fluid proposition in which artworks enter and exit the exhibition at irregular intervals and for undisclosed periods, and performative actions instigate reconfigurations of how and where works are positioned. These movements establish ever-changing contexts and reconsideration of the works vis a vis in relation to each other, as well as in relation to themselves.

To enter into this exhibition, one must consider the idea of the center—or more precisely, the absence of it. The notion of a "center" implies a fixed point, a locus of meaning around which all else orbits. This is the very notion that the exhibition seeks to dismantle. Instead, There is no centre embraces flux and the weakness of overly attempting to hold meaning in its place. Time itself becomes a material, distorted or reconsidered by its inherent elasticity.

The gallery space will be transformed into a dynamic environment, where the interplay of artworks allows for moments of rediscovery of contexts, relationships, forgotten histories, and experiences. In this way, There is no centre considers itself a living entity, one that breathes and embodies the ephemeral and the permanent, the contemporary and the historical. The exhibition unfolds in layers, with artworks continuing to dialogue throughout its duration. At points, contemporary works may engage with their historical antecedents in a dialogue that refuses resolution. There is an aspiration to establish new connections between various artistic practices at times rooted in the peripheries or marginal contexts that may have been overlooked or misunderstood, or simply not considered to be so easily connected with each other due to perceived distance between one aesthetic/conceptual language to the other. An aspect of this dialogue is also an invitation for a reversal of the traditional relationship between artwork and spectator, whereby audiences are also invited to become active agents in the making of the exhibition.

Born 1978, Surakarta, Indonesia
Lives and works in Surakarta, Indonesia

Aditya Novali works with a variety of materials, often first conceiving an idea and then finding the right medium to transcribe his vision. His background in architecture influences his sensitivity to structure, space, and knowledge of construction – key elements of his approach and aesthetic. Addressing themes such as boundaries, identities, materialism, and urban life, Novali’s work interacts with the viewer and transforms with each viewing.

Novali received his Bachelor of Engineering in Architecture from Parahyangan Catholic University, Bandung, Indonesia, in 2002; and an IM Master of Conceptual Design from the Design Academy Eindhoven, The Netherlands, in 2008. Novali’s work has been exhibited in numerous galleries and institutions both locally and internationally. Selected solo exhibitions include Ends at Nova Contemporary, Bangkok, Thailand (2024); New Obsolescence: ADITYAVOVALI at ROH, Jakarta, Indonesia (2023); WHY at Tumurun Museum, Solo, Indonesia (2022); ME:DI:UM with ROH Projects at Liste Art Fair, Basel, Switzerland (2019); Significant Other at ShanghArt Gallery, Singapore (2019); Caprice with ROH Projects at Art Basel Hong Kong: Discoveries, Hong Kong (2018); and ACRYLIC at ROH Projects, Jakarta, Indonesia (2016). Notable group exhibitions are, among others, Taipei Biennial 2023: Small World at Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan (2023); Dhaka Art Summit: বন্যা/Bonna at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka, Bangladesh (2023); On Muzharul Islam: Surfacing Intention at Dhaka Art Summit: Seismic Movements, Dhaka, Bangladesh (2020); The 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, QAGOMA, Brisbane, Australia (2018); DIASPORA: Exit, Exile, Exodus of Southeast Asia at MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum, Chiang Mai, Thailand (2018); The 15th Asia Art Festival: Multiple Spectacle Art from Asia at Ningbo Art Museum, Ningbo, China (2017); Imaginary Synonym at Tokyo Wonder Site, Tokyo, Japan (2016); Aku Diponegoro at National Gallery of Indonesia, Indonesia (2015); Shout! Indonesian Contemporary Art at Museo d’Arte Contemporanea (MACRO), Italy (2014); Little Water at Dojima River Biennale, Osaka, Japan (2013); and South East Asia (SEA)+ Triennale at National Gallery of Indonesia, Indonesia (2013). Novali was nominated for Best Emerging Artist Using Installation at the 2016 Prudential Eye Awards in Singapore; Finalist in the 2010 Sovereign Asian Art Prize, and awarded Best Artwork in the Bandung Contemporary Art Awards (BaCAA) in the same year.

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