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In a city brimming with creative talent but short on space, Jakarta PROVOKE! began not as a celebration, but as a call to action.
When artist Revoluta Syafri, known as Revo, realized that too many artists were struggling to find platforms for their work, she teamed up with fellow artist Eko Banding to change that. Together, under the name Artpora, they launched an exhibition that would not only give Jakarta-based artists a stage, but hand them the curatorial reins as well.
Now in its second year, Jakarta PROVOKE! returns with urgency, establishing itself as a fixture in Jakarta’s anniversary celebrations.
This year, 19 artists are showcasing work that reflects not just the city’s anniversary, but a world increasingly off-balance under the shadow of climate collapse, civic uncertainty and global tensions.
“My hope is for Jakarta to become a city of the arts, one that shares the same level of contemporary art as the other great cities of the world,” says Revo.
One aspect that makes Jakarta PROVOKE! unique is its approach. Each artist works with a curator of their own choosing, reviving not only artists, but also curators who have long been on pause.
The exhibition also embraces evolving practices: advanced technology, recycled media and new visual languages born of alternative science.
Held at Pos Bloc at Pasar Baru from June 19 to July 3, the exhibition gathers diverse works that examine power, memory and anxiety.
The result is a show that embraces experimentation, emotion and the unknown. It is not just a display, it is a provocation.
So, what, exactly, are these artists hoping to provoke?
Ade Artie Tjakra
Returning after a creative hiatus, Ade responds to her struggle in the digital world in Simulacra Echoes: a mountainous heap of old television sets, layered with resin sculptures—some solid, some transparent—gliding over a sand-like platform.
It’s a chaotic, cognitive confusion in a world overrun by tech. She bases her art on the tumult of today’s technological environment, including the overuse of social media and the phenomenon of artificial intelligence.
“Is it helping us human beings, or is it driving us away from our intrinsic being?” Ade asks.
Awan Simatupang
Recycling with a purpose, Awan, a senior artist sculptor, used a long-kept collection of film stock from his cineast friends to build AWARE OF DANGER, a 5x2 meter neon-lit panel warning sign.
“I fear the uncertain currents in the world, including Indonesia, are heading to an explosion, just as what happened in Hiroshima,” he says.
Dolores Sinaga
A well-known figure in the Indonesian art world, Dolores is the ex-dean at Jakarta Institute of the Arts (IKJ), a human rights activist and a celebrated sculptor. As an artist, she consistently dabbles with themes of humanity, injustice and women’s suffering.
Her work, Monument of Freedom, is a 7-meter fiberglass sculpture. It’s a testament to her fight against repression, may it be physical, intellectual or mental.
Ve Dhanito
Photographer and award-winning artist Ve explores inner panic in her piece on anxiety and neuroscience.
“At times, I feel like my heart is jumping, accompanied by pain in my chest,” she explains.
“It’s like a cortisol rain through my brain.”
The overall sense of fear, dread and danger is present in her current oeuvre, focused through visceral imagery.
Her work, made of lenticular prints, aluminum and canvas, shows beauty emerging from the dark. Scraps of reassuring text, glued onto her three frames, act like positive mantras through the chaos.
Vy Patiah
Vy, a young emerging artist, collected worn-out jeans from friends, dyed them herbal red coloring, and stitched them together to create a 3x4 meter fabric installation.
It may appear to be a simpler choice of work, but this piece of art is a meditation on memory, waste and pollution.
As a child, Vy thought the bright blue river along the road she used to walk was beautiful. Turns out, it was wastewater from a nearby jeans factory.
Yani Mariani Sastranegara
A veteran known for working with natural materials on a massive scale, Yani’s previous works, including the 14 x 6.5’s Beyond the Tides at The Green, using stone materials, are monumental.
This time, she created Abhipraya Nawasena, a three-meter-high sculpture crafted from recycled resin drums once used for chemicals, artificial stones and tendrils.
One “stone” shines gold, symbolizing hopes for a luminous future. It is a mother-stone giving birth to a new generation.
Why Jakarta PROVOKE! matters
At its heart, Jakarta PROVOKE! is a call to reclaim space, for artists, for dialogue and for a cause.
The exhibition and its artworks are interconnected by a shared urgency. Responding to political upheaval, mental health, AI anxiety or environmental crisis, each piece echoes a central plea: we need more places in the city to create and be heard.
With strong intent signaled by the organizers, artists and curators to continue the exhibition, there is little doubt we can expect an even more significant edition next year, and a future where Jakarta takes its place among the world’s great art cities.
