Artists with Mental Disability Exhibit Murals in Jakarta National Gallery

JAKARTA - Seven artists with mental disability exhibited murals that they painted on various mediums such as tents, cafe walls and umbrellas in the National Gallery in Jakarta, Monday.

    

The exhibition was a part of the series towards the Limitless Festival, an art festival presented by disabled artists, scheduled to be held in October.

    

Mentor for Disability Arts Timotius Suwarsito said that they chose the theme 'Bhinneka Tunggal Ika' which means Unity in Diversity for this year's mural creations.

    

"They have varying communication skills, some of them are quick to comprehend what 'Bhinneka Tunggal Ika' is, while some other took some time. We then gave them examples of how Bhinneka Tunggal Ika could be visualized," he said.

    

Most of the artists responded to the theme of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika with butterflies of different colours, while some chose to do collages.

    

He further stated that the artists indeed had different approaches, from doodle art murals, naive styles and decorative.

    

The artists involved include Claire Nicole Siregar, Calliandra Alexa Roshetko, Aziza Mischa Azalia, Shan Rafael Saputra, Audrel Christabel Angesty, Anfield Wibowo, and Dwi Putri Mulyono Jati.

    

Art Brut Indonesia Community Activist Nawa Tunggal said the painters have great passion as they painted from Saturday (May 12) to Monday (May 14).

    

"They are working from morning to dawn to create their art. Their spirit is amazing," he said.

    

He further said that art could become a good medium for mental disabilities, especially to express their emotions. They could even reach a more stable condition with art. (*)