15 Invitations: ruangrupa: Toko Pura-Pura (Quasi-shop)

“Toko Pura-Pura” is part of “15 Invitations for 15 Years”, a special programme series featuring exhibitions, projects, written works, performances, a blog, and publication marking Asia Art Archive‘s 15-year anniversary.

Responding to AAA’s invitation, ruangrupa stages a ‘quasi-shop’ with old and new archives: a transactional space where knowledge and ideas are exchanged through collaborations between Jakarta and Hong Kong-based artists, musicians, designers, and cultural initiatives. The name “Toko Pura-Pura” can be read as a pun on toko rupa-rupa or ‘assorted shop’, where many Indonesian domestic workers in Hong Kong meet most of their daily needs. The shop also serves as an experimental space to imagine what happens when ruangrupa’s sensibilities are applied to Hong Kong with AAA as an entry point.

ruangrupa is a contemporary art organisation founded in 2000 by a group of artists in Jakarta, Indonesia. As a nonprofit, it works to advance art ideas in an urban context and within the broad scope of culture through exhibitions, festivals, art laboratories, workshops, research, and publications.

Participants:

Adi ‘Dhigel’ Setiawan is a member of GRAFIS HURU-HARA printmaking community in Jakarta. He works with illustration, murals, and printmaking. His last group exhibition was ‘Harap Huru Hara’ at Suar Artspace, Jakarta.

Come Inside is an art collective founded by artists Mak Ying Tung and Wong Ka Ying. They examine media-driven consumerism, the labour system, and the anxieties of Hong Kong youth. They recently participated in various Hong Kong exhibitions and exchanges, including ‘Fashion I.D.’, ‘In the Glass of Love’, and ‘MaD: The Free Marketeers’.

dj sniff (Takuro Mizuta Lippit) is a musician and curator in the field of experimental electronic arts and improvised music. His musical work combines DJing, instrument design, and free improvisation. He has performed internationally and is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at City University of Hong Kong, and Co-Director of Ensembles Asia.

doing.hk is an independent design project for Hong Kong founded by Silas Fong. They create simple and meaningful tote bags on politics, art, everyday life, and personal expressions. They use wearable text expression in physical space to promote the Cantonese language and Hong Kong culture.

Eli (Everlasting Illusion) is a band that combines British, alternative, and electronic rock. They recently performed at The Wall (Taipei), Emerge Live House (Taichung), and the 2014 Spring Scream Festival (Kenting).

Kemalreza Gibranos is an artist who works with illustration, murals, and mixed media artworks. He uses topographic lines that symbolise his intimacy with the city and often references pop and mass culture. He recently participated in Roppongi Art Night 2014, Tokyo.

Merry Lamb Lamb is a singer-songwriter whose name was inspired by the ballad ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’. Her music expresses her love of 8-bit music and is mostly influenced by her childhood experiences.

mosunsun is an astrology reading group formed by astroosim and Mingson. The duo’s approach is a blend of East and West and constantly explores unconventional ways of explaining charts.

Natasha Gabriella Tontey is an artist and graphic designer. She uses an interdisciplinary approach that questions how fear can be manifested to control public opinion through a mixture of fiction, dream, and memory. She recently participated in Koganecho Bazaar 2015, Yokohama and Next Wave Festival 2016, Melbourne.

nomad nomad is an experimental art and cultural studio that experiments with different practices of art in spaces around the city. They reflect on different issues about living through experimental art projects, market culture, artist-in-residence, and independent production.

onion peterman is a Hong Kong-based illustrator, silkscreen printer, and zine-maker.

The Interzone Collective is a band inspired by the musical instrument ‘handpan’. Their abstract music explores ideas of perception and the inner workings of the human subconscious.