10.04.2022
EXHIBITION REVIEW:
Revolusi! Indonesia Independent
Revolusi! Indonesia independent: Poignant personal stories in a downplayed history. ︎︎︎︎︎
Rijksmuseum’s Revolusi! reveals the story that is not often told through the people who experienced the Indonesian revolution first hand. Through poignant multimedia artefacts, such as a friends photo album, handmade clothes and pamphlets, the viewer is drawn into a highly complicated history of anti-colonial resistance.
︎︎︎Figure 1 - Independence fighter Sutarso Nasrudin’s friends photo album. (photo: ANP / Remko de Waal)
After a very concise introductory text about the three centuries of colonial occupation by the Netherlands, the timeline of the exposition drops you in 1945, when Indonesia proclaims itself an independent country and the four-year struggle for autonomy begins. The lack of given historical context makes it clear that the exhibition is sharply demarcated and will focus exclusively on ‘the people battling for independence’ during the Indonesian Revolution through ‘their experiences and eyewitness accounts’. The closing sentence shows how the curators want to ‘provide insight into this history, which was so important for Indonesia, the Netherlands and the world’.1 A fairly ambitious last word.
The story starts with the independence speech of Indonesian nationalist leader Sakurno. Subsequently, the evident, yet not predominant exhibition design provides a red line through the crowded rooms along the historical texts, persons’ biographies and artefacts.2 Taco Dibbits, the museum’s general director points out in the eponymous book Revolusi! that ‘research and exhibitions in the Netherlands often focus on the Netherlands’ role in this period and it consequences here, but with this exhibition, we aim instead to provide an international perspective’. In particular, he adds, the ‘inclusion of personal histories, those that were previously denied proper attention’.3
His statement is indeed leading and clearly visible throughout the exposition. Personal, striking stories from journalists, fighters, soldiers, artists, diplomats, children and politicians create an overview about the struggle and consequences for Indonesia, that manifested itself on many fronts. For example, the liberation of the Japanse women’s prison camp Kampong Makassar and the scarcity of materials is told trough Jeanne van Leur-de Loos and her homemade dressing gown made of silk maps. The exhibition succeeds in placing the people and their own artefacts prominently in a larger story, resulting in a captivating journey through the museum’s various rooms (Fig. 2). However, the world-oriented, international perspective is overshadowed by the Dutch-Indonesian conflict. Underexposed aspects such as the Japanse prison camp, American army commanders and the troops from the United Kingdom raise questions about the other participating countries and their actions during the revolution.
︎︎︎Figure 2 - Overview of a room. On the right the gown made of silk maps. The red line guides you through the exhibition. (photo: ANP / Remko de Waal)
The highlight of this exposition must be the room filled with posters, pamphlets and banners (Fig. 3). Indonesian artists ‘illegally’ designed street propaganda that allowed the message of the revolution to reach the people in towns and villages. Trying to suppress the revolution, the Dutch destroyed as many posters and pamphlets as possible. The struggle of all the people will ensure the victory of the revolution, reads a bold stencilled pamphlet. The accompanying image of a soldier, worker and farmer symbolises the unity of the Indonesian people, fighting together against their oppressors. Despite the chaos of the revolution, the fragile papers with their strong messages have managed to survive almost without a scratch; an impressive, and especially confronting sight.
Two tiny illustrations across the same room show how Dutch soldiers are kicked off a cliff by rich pig-looking figures. Dutch soldier.. you will not die for your country!! But only for those fat industrialists and money-grubbers. The drawings were made for the ‘oppressors’. However, by addressing them as brothers, descendants of the Beggars, a new perspective arises; the young soldiers are being forced by Dutch capitalists.4 Like many other illustrations, these prints provide a small glimpse into a much larger history, dating back to the 17th century when the Dutch East India Company aggressively colonised many areas for economic interests.5 A history extremely relevant to the instigation of the revolution, yet not discussed at all.
︎︎︎Figure 3 - Posters, pamphlets and banners on display. (photo: ANP / Remko de Waal)
The final room shows videos of ten people from both Indonesia and the Netherlands who intimately talk about the role this past plays in their current lives. Their stories reflect the perseverance, hope, grief and nostalgia that was so evident within the whole exposition. Although the exhibition powerfully conveys the history of these four stirring years through personal experiences and objects, the lack of historical background remains a missing link that potentially could have tied it all together. What were all these different countries, such as Japan and the United Kingdom doing there in the first place and what exactly instigated the revolution after being exploited by the Dutch colonists for more than three centuries? An important component that can be felt throughout the exhibition’s objects, but that remains unanswered.
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1 Quoted from the Indonesia Independent introductory text. (More information: https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/whats-on/exhibitions/revolusi)
2 Exhibition design by Wilmotte & Associés. Graphic design by Irma Boom Office.
3 Stevens, Hans, Amir Sidharta, Bonnie Triyana, Marion Anker, Revolusi! Indonesia independent, Amsterdam (Atlas Contact) 2022, p.7.
4 Beggars or Geuzen: the 16th-century Dutch rebel party who opposed Spanish rule in the Netherlands.
5 Dutch East India Company or VOC: a multinational corporation that gained a monopoly on overseas trade between the Republic and Asia.