The Imam of the artist of Tuban Autodidak Sucahyo performed first in Jakarta, precisely at the gallery of Salihara, with the co-founder of Cemeti, Nindityo Adipurnomo.

The community of Salihara presented a duo exhibition entitled “Staging Desire” which took place from June 14 to July 27, 2025 at the Salihara gallery, South Jakarta. This exhibition brought together two artists with a unique material approach. Where their works become a space of exploration between personal desires and the exception of the outside.

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The story begins when Nindityo Adipurnomo saw the parts of the hand Wayang Karton from Imam Sucahyo in Tuban. Estreensive by its form and expression which emerged from used box, Reunion finally turned into a long conversation for a year on identity and how to train creative practices. Well, all trips are now manifested in an exhibition that is a shame to miss.

Of Tuban with an imagination that never decreases in the style of Imam Sucahyoâ

Imam Sucahyo is a self-taught artist from Tuban, East Java, whose work was Wara-Wiri during various exhibitions, including in France.Stage desire So its solo beginnings in Jakarta. Inspired by daily life and environmental problems in his hometown, the priest process that finds materials such as floating wood, plastic used, for crustaceans become a blurred work between reality and imagination. For priests, memory, reality and imagination can meet at a given moment, and this is what he tries to present through his work.

“My work is a combination of daily life, then natural problems” The paths are like reality and my imagination tries to combine, perhaps from the past to the present, I combine, to wait impatiently, “he said, citing a press release.”

Nindityo Adipurnomo: dismantles the symbols, assemble the meaning

For more than 30 years, Nindityo Adipurnomo is known as an important figure in the world of contemporary Indonesian art. Thanks to works that explore many Javanese cultural identities and traditional symbols, Nindityo invites us to reflect the relevance of culture in modern life. As a co-founder of Cemeti Institute and IVAA, his role is also strong in the formation of an artistic support ecosystem and continues to regenerate.

“In general, anxiety is not always negative as understood by general people. For me, worsening means the desire to do something useful, for yourself and for others. In the context of art, this anxiety is an energy that does not make me stop for a definition,” he said.

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Nindityo’s neat and structured work has in fact become interesting when he encountered the raw expression of Imam Sucahyo. Although visually different, they both talk about the concern for the environment, culture and symbols. The difference, Nindityo considers inspiration as a process of deconstruction and recreation, while priests rely more on intuition and impressions of daily reality.

Installation and exhibition experience

Produced by Baseline Studio and organized by Zarani Risjad, the desire for staging is present by creative collaboration with the scenographies, the concept of lighting and significant lighting. Once inside, visitors are invited to go through a corridor that looks like the backstage area, building an atmosphere as if we enter a show, not just an ordinary exhibition.

In the middle of the exhibition hall, a dilapidated wooden house stands in Tuban. The roof is tilted, resembling the southern cross, carrying a personal and symbolic shade. This house is not only a background, but appears to be the main character: the meeting place for the priest’s memory and Nindityo’s narration on identity, cohesion and property. Under the suspended moonlight, this house gathered the priest’s cardboard and the figure of the priest’s female by Nindityo. Two different visual worlds, but dialogue with each other through social problems, desire and collective spirit.

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For the entry price, amounting to PR. 30 thousand (general), rp. 25 thousand (students) fordays of the weekand 50,000 IDR (general), IDR 25,000 (students) forweekend.Interested in the Salihara gallery this weekend?

Image: Dok. Basic line