At the end of this year’s quarter, Srisasanti Gallery presents a warm atmosphere through the exquisite works by artist Fandi Angga Saputra. Featuring rich narratives, Fandi displays 18 acrylic-on-canvas paintings alongside 3D prints and clay objects under the title Pada Lingsa, a Javanese word meaning comma (,) or pause. An intense Javanese atmosphere permeates this exhibition, wrapped with a touch of contemporary art. Playful child figures are portrayed candidly in several works. At the same time, each corner of the exhibition space is decorated with tiny installations of clay jugs, known in Javanese as “kendi,” and an ear-shaped decorative piece. It’s uniquely pleasing.
The gentle and calming colours of the artworks in this exhibition truly draw visitors in, inviting them to connect with the intimate Javanese values passed down through generations within the artist’s family. Fandi himself shares that Javanese traditions still exist in today’s modern world, even if only faintly. It’s disheartening to see how these values are slowly fading, becoming less familiar to many. During my time as a gallery sitter at this exhibition, I enjoyed hearing visitors’ thoughts on these pieces — from humorous portrayals of children to objects closely linked to Javanese traditional events, like gedebog pisang (banana stem), janur (woven coconut leaves), kendi, and birdcages — each of which vividly reminded them of their childhood.
I’m genuinely pleased that visitors can easily respond to the works in this exhibition. It’s heartening to see that everyone feels Javanese traditional values are still vibrant and present. While they recognise their cultural roots, many don’t fully grasp the deeper purpose and history behind them. Still, their feet, bodies, and minds guide them to pause and quietly absorb these works, allowing them to reconnect with the essence of Javanese traditions deep within themselves.
In his works, Time Told Through Shadows (2025) and Resilience (2025), Fandi presents a figure frequently seen in his previous works: a child with slightly droopy, yet sparkling eyes, as if contemplating something, as reflected in his facial expression. The presence of essential icons, such as a gedebog pisang, an umbrella leaf, traditional food cover (tudung saji), and a group of miniature humans, conveys the strong Javanese elements often used in Javanese customs of celebration or rituals. Time Told Through Shadows and Resilience are once again an exception among Fandi’s other works in this exhibition. Both works explicitly depict the figure of a child, yet they clearly illustrate how we feel while enjoying this exhibition. We pause for a moment, revisiting vague memories of the past, laced with many Javanese values.
Visitors were captivated not only by the charming ear-shaped sculptures that adorned every corner of the first exhibition room, but also by the cozy, softly-lit long dining table in the other room. Clay objects shaped in bowls filled with rice are displayed in that room, and visitors can actually touch them, allowing them to actively soak in more of the exhibition. Fandi paid attention to the visitor experience at this exhibition, so he wants to invite visitors to actively use their sense of touch to get to know the displayed objects deeply, beyond the paintings. It is important to note that rice has become a food staple in Java; from rice, we can also experiment with making a variety of dishes, starting with snacks, main dishes, and desserts commonly served at traditional events in Java, such as arem-arem (pressed rice wrapped in banana leaves), nasi liwet (steamed rice), and a dessert called serabi. Most of the time, this type of food tastes different in every family, since family recipes can vary widely, customized to each family’s tastes and hereditary traditions. This long dining table at the exhibition shows that it has become a family tradition to preserve their memories in the food they typically enjoy together and to inherit the recipe so that their memories will not fade and remain timeless. I do acknowledge that home-cooked meals are always stored memories and warm conversations with my parents in every nook and cranny of our dining table.
Perhaps we experience the same feeling when we go in and out of this exhibition room. We have to pass through a lowered doorway, carefully bowing our bodies and heads slightly as if asking for permission, before entering politely. One thing that crossed my mind when I first stepped into this room was the aroma of food that my extended family and I ate at my cousin’s old wooden house with a lowered doorway kitchen, along with traditional cookware still in use, like a stone-built installation designed as a place for cooking called tungku and firewood. That inviting space, beautifully set with “dishes” and bells hanging above the traditional food cover (tudung saji), became a favourite spot for capturing moments during the exhibition Pada Lingsa. In the west corner of that same room, the piece Lingering Light was displayed, showing two symbols of male and female with distinctive heads, seemingly water-doused from their own kendi, surrounded by hanging toys decorated with tiny birds. Fandi said earlier that this artwork beautifully illustrates the Javanese proverb “Tresna Jalaran Saka Kulina,” which means love grows through habit⎯reminding us to gradually embrace and love every part of our lives through familiarity and effort.
Let’s take another look at the ear-shaped symbol that appeared frequently, or even almost, in every piece of Fandi’s work. Yes, I don’t expect visitors to pay a little too much for this detail. Some of them saw this symbol as a significant and initial way to become aware of the Javanese tradition and culture. This has caught my attention most because modernity plays a crucial role in explaining why young generations feel a significant gap in their understanding of Javanese tradition today. It’s not because they don’t want to learn about their cultural roots; instead, in this era, the modern lifestyle often comes first to mind, so it sometimes takes considerable effort to understand their own culture better. Despite moments when we feel pretty distant from our culture, in fact, we can take a moment to reconnect and re-learn it together, just as we do through this exhibition. In my personal view, it’s indeed, unwittingly, many of the Javanese traditions I only heard about from my parents or some of my extended family, who rarely applied that tradition before.
Meanwhile, some of them, with whom I had a light conversation, also mentioned that the ear symbol is a form of communication used by the Javanese family across generations. As they shared, besides hearing the various Javanese traditions and rituals from their ancestors, ears can also symbolize the importance of young generations listening attentively to advice and guidance from older people. I can also see this as a lifelong cycle, since we certainly have similar expectations for our descendants to heed our advice. All the opinions I receive are very eye-opening and make for a great time during my time at this exhibition.
The storyline of the exhibition and the artworks are truly enjoyable, at least for those who I’ve encountered at the gallery. It’s such a joy to share thoughts on his work with fun energy in the room, especially since it’s filled with elements of Javanese philosophy that I also hold dear. I warmly encourage more visitors to share their interesting perspectives, questions, or even to learn or to re-learn about their cultural roots and to hold dearly of what makes them, them.
Fandi Angga Saputra (b. 1996) is an artist based in Yogyakarta. Unique characters, such as a child with a large head who appears comical, are featured in his works. Broadly speaking, his works are inspired by childhood memories and elements of Javanese philosophy, also known as Kejawen. In his solo exhibition this time, Fandi presents 18 of his latest works, painted with acrylic on canvas and accompanied by several clay sculptures and 3D print objects.
Srisasanti Gallery
Pada Lingsa
A Solo Exhibition by Fandi Angga Saputra
26 September – 2 November 2025
Tirtodipuran Link Building A
Jl. Tirtodipuran No. 50
Yogyakarta, Indonesia
