Jompet: Java's Machine
The Indonesian artist Jompet Kuswidananto about his installation "Java's Machine: Phantasmagoria".
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Video
A traditional dance to invite the spirits of the ancestors, performed by the actor Bahrul Ulum in an old sugar factory.
In the middle of the 19th century, when the Dutch entrepreneurs began to build sugar factories in the north coastal region of Java, an interesting adaptation process occurred. In order to intensify the cosmological tie between themselves and the machines, the sugar farmers created a new ritual, called Cembengan, which accompanied the initial processing of the sugar cane into sugar. This ritual was conducted amongst the large machines that ground the sugar cane, creating a unique juxtaposition between the magical and the mechanical.
(From a text by Agung Hujatnikajennong)
© Video stills: Jompet Kuswidananto
The Indonesian artist Jompet Kuswidananto about his installation "Java's Machine: Phantasmagoria".