“Jogja unfurled at its own leisurely pace, commencing at a comfortable 10 AM and observing midday siestas to escape the sweltering heat. On day one, I met with Nepali curator-friends Hit Man Gurung and Sheelasha Rajbhandari at Taman Budaya, Jogja’s cultural complex, which served as one of the two largest biennial venues.”
“Biennials nowadays are about connections—and not only in the opportunistic networking sense. As social debates turn callous and any macro-narrative that does not fit into a cocktail-size conversation becomes disenchanting, we are all secretly yearning for something soft, small, even intimate.”
“If “Titen” wants us to look critically at local knowledge as a source of transcendence, that sublimity can usually be found in small gatherings and intimate conversations—maybe over a cup of Poci teh, a savory serving of bakso, and crispy pisang goreng.”
Read the full article at Artforum.
