In this exhibition, Christine presents a twenty-meter-long canvas. The work represents a series of fragments of Christine’s life in the stage that she calls a ‘symmetrical sanctuary.’ It is difficult for us to estimate when the stage of ‘symmetrical sanctuary’ actually began in her life. We do not know the time span of the flashback moments that the artist presents here: does it include the latest year in her life, two years, or ten years? Did it begin with a certain significant event? Or perhaps since she started knowing someone? We can never know—only Christine understands the true meaning of the narrative. The rest of us can merely guess and try to reconstruct the meanings based on our understanding about her.

In this exhibition Christine does not present any certain theme. The work itself, as the artist has admitted, constitutes her personal notes, reflecting her latest stage of life. Of course, the events and experience noted there are those that she finds significant, although she does not explain whether the experience had been fun, happy, or, in the contrary, sad and depressing—or the mixture of sad and happy. Christine’s works constitutes a self-history of sorts—or self “herstory” to be exact.

“There is no way out from seeing art as a reflection or meditation or comment on life.” – Donald Kuspit

Ay Tjoe Christine is a special figure in the Indonesian art world. It is difficult to situate Christine in one of the streams that we see in the contemporary art map of Indonesia. That is why she stands out and exists as a distinct figure. She does not speak much, and is serious and intense in creating her works. Perhaps there is nothing special in saying that Christine’s works so far serve as the manifestation of what she thinks, feels, and is worried about. Is that not common if we are talking about art works as the personal expression of the artist? However, when we say that for Christine the creative process itself serves as an act that she undertakes with a high level of totality and intensity and is more important than the “production” of the art work itself, then this might be an interesting issue.

To Christine, an act of creation serves constitutes a catharsis. Naturally, this is nothing new, either. Today, however, at the time when most painters work with clear visual planning stages, Christine’s intuitive, direct, and total approach feels distinct. It is undeniable that the contemporary art today is dominated by works that represent the popular and visual culture. That is why contemporary art works often appropriate the visual realities that have been inundating us every day. It is understandable, therefore, how realist works based on photographs as well as works in the style of the pop culture elements such as comics, street art, and fetish objects become dominant. There is the impression that the contemporary art has become one of the visual culture spectacles, which happily celebrate the charms and the allure of the popular culture. Christine’s works, however, deviate from this dominant tendency. To Christine, the matter of creating works of art has to do with her being, her inner self, her intimate and hidden personal experiences. Creating works of art becomes a way for Christine to understand herself.

If one says that Christine works intuitively, naturally this does not mean that she does not have any ideas, themes, or plans. It is true, however, that she never accurately determines in the beginning the visual structure of any of her works. Although she acts intuitively and goes with the flow as she arranges the visual aspects of her works, Christine always has a certain theme or idea that she uses to find her bearing. This means that the aspect of content (the issue that she represents) and her expressions (spontaneity and artistic character and quality) are equally important. Christine’s tendency reminds us of the Romantic artists who resided and worked in Europe two centuries ago. Like these artists, Christine lays a great emphasis on imaginations, emotions, and freedom as shown by the individualist and subjective forces. The Romantic artists stressed on spontaneity and solitary lifestyle free from social norms. Naturally, Christine does not fully works and acts like the Romantic artists did; to me, however, Christine’s attitude toward art and how she lives reminded me very much of the images that we have about the Romantic artists. At least, this is the reason why Christine appears distinct and strong.

With thoughts and attitude resembling those of the Romantic artists, Christine tends to choose, view, and respond to issues in a unique way, different from most contemporary artists. This is evident in her choice of themes so far. An interesting and prominent example could be found in her previous solo exhibition “Silent Supper”, which dealt with the issue of “eating”. The same is also true for her solo exhibition last year, “Interioritas Harapan” (The Interiority of Hope), which presented a deeply religious hope but with an ambiguous point of view.

As common for introverted artists, Christine’s works tend to be rather esoteric in nature. When there are issues that are external to her being, those are invariably related to her experience and point of view. Christine, therefore, rarely talks about stereotypical narratives of the social and political issues. Although we can be certain that matters of identity, social issues, and the kind are also included in Christine’s works, she does not convey those issues with the stand point of an artist that speaks out the truth. Christine’s works provide thus neither answers nor solutions, but are often questions, that sometimes also become subtle statements.

Her background of an artist educated in the arts of printmaking plays a significant role in shaping the character and style of her works so far. Christine often says that since her student days she has been familiar with the dry point needles to produce incisions on copper plates as she creates her etching works. This experience shapes her sensitivity toward line characters and the quality of the paper and ink. It is understandable, therefore, how Christine always demands good quality paper and ink, ones that can meet her criteria. She complains how she can no longer find a certain black ink produced in the United States as the factory has been closed down. She also regrets losing a set of dry point needles, which she says has been shaped according to her wishes for much usage, and worked harmoniously with her as she has been using the set for many years—she thinks that those needles are irreplaceable. Christine thinks that with the missing dry point needles and the American black ink that is no longer produced she could create fine lines and nuances of black that were sensitive to the movements of her hands as she made the incisions.

Christine’s works strongly show the traces of the art of printmaking. Apart from the lines that often appear dominant, her technique in applying the acrylic paints using palette knives—even when she applies the aquarelle colors—on the canvas surface have been inspired from her experience of wiping the ink from the surface of the copper plate in the etching process. The strength of lines in Christine’s works creates an atmosphere of drawing works. Indeed, her paintings have strong drawing and prints characteristics.

In her 8th solo exhibition today, Christine presents the theme and title of “Symmetrical Sanctuary”, to which I gave the subtitle of “Hidden Anthology”. Unlike her previous exhibitions, in this presentation Christine talks about a more personal issue: that of her life in its latest stage.

Symmetrical Sanctuary: Hidden Anthology

Perhaps Christine is indeed an introverted person. With her artistic travail, however, she becomes extroverted and expressive. Because her works are the reflections of her experience as an artist, they contain a range of expressions of hope, regret, joy, and anger. Christine’s lines are the vibrations of her tumultuous soul, and they might thus appear soft and calm, but often very strong as well.

In this exhibition, Christine presents a twenty-meter-long canvas. The work represents a series of fragments of Christine’s life in the stage that she calls a ‘symmetrical sanctuary.’ It is difficult for us to estimate when the stage of ‘symmetrical sanctuary’ actually began in her life. We do not know the time span of the flashback moments that the artist presents here: does it include the latest year in her life, two years, or ten years? Did it begin with a certain significant event? Or perhaps since she started knowing someone? We can never know—only Christine understands the true meaning of the narrative. The rest of us can merely guess and try to reconstruct the meanings based on our understanding about her.

Compared with her previous solo exhibition, we can safely say that in this exhibition Christine does not present any certain theme. The work itself, as the artist has admitted, constitutes her personal notes, reflecting her latest stage of life. Of course, the events and experience noted there are those that she finds significant, although she does not explain whether the experience had been fun, happy, or, in the contrary, sad and depressing—or the mixture of sad and happy. Christine’s works constitutes a self-history of sorts—or self “herstory” to be exact. The twenty-meter painting is installed on the wall using magnets. I presume even the magnets actually mean something.

Christine hopes that the audience can appreciate the work Symmetrical Sanctuary freely, assign meanings to it as they wish. This is one of the intentions of the work, as the audience is given privilege to appreciate and assign meaning to it according to their experience and perceptions. Christine thinks that it is not important whether or not the audience understands the real story behind the painting. In any case, none of us in the audience has gone through the experiences that Christine had. This means that the audience can never fully understand and feel the issues that Christine talks about, even when she tells us the stories.

The title of Symmetrical Sanctuary seems to indicate a “sanctuary” of sorts for the audience, giving them freedom to respond to the work according to their needs. In any case, Christine conveys her “feelings” using the language of art, which means that what we have before us is an artistic expression. Naturally, as a work of art, Symmetrical Sanctuary is inextricably linked with Christine’s characteristic style. As I have mentioned before, Christine has a unique tendency and style that no other artist has. Of course, Christine moves inside the realm of possibilities of her visual style that has so far become her signature. In other words, the audience can also respond to the painting as they would to an aesthetic object.

The forms found in Christine’s work, especially the figures, often appear with a variety of shapes whose characters are constructed from lines. They sometimes appear as they are, simply as impressions, but they are often constructed out of complex lines. Sometimes the lines flow smoothly and subtly; other times, they appear strong and rigid. Meanwhile, the colors tend to appear aquarelle-like, very light, but in other paintings—like in the Barabas series, we can see opaque hues. Lines and colors have their respective role; there is never any impression of illusion in Christine’s works, never any bluntness. (If she needs blunt impressions, she would present her dolls.) Her works, however, always appear expressive and strong. Even when she uses transparent aquarelle, the works still look severe. Apparently, the experience of incising lines on copper plates and conquering the hard plates with the dry point needle has played a decisive role. Perhaps that is why Christine says that she feels most at home with the technique of printmaking—especially engraving and etching.

The distinctive artistic quality and the possibilities of multiple interpretations that we find in Christine’s works give the audience a chance to play a part in an aesthetic journey that the work presents. Is it not true that every one of us invariably has significant memories—whether they happy or sad? Those experience and memories shape us and help us better understand ourselves and the world around us. The aesthetic experience in modern and contemporary art, therefore, is not merely the perceptual experience of standing face to face with beauty, but also the authentic, sublime, and even disturbing experiences.

One might presume that for Christine herself the work Symmetrical Sanctuary conveys her hope about a certain ideal condition; a condition that is totally in balance: a symmetry. Of course, in human experience, it is difficult to find relations that are thoroughly balanced. The condition of symmetry in human relationships, therefore, can only be conjured in dreams and conveyed in art. The ideal condition of balance can apparently be desired, but it is difficult to find in real life. That is why symmetry can apparently take place only in places that are separate from life and human gatherings; only in temples or “sanctuaries.”

Christine has apparently determined to apply such an ideal condition in the process of appreciating and collecting her work. To her, the attitude of accepting and considering others is one of the signs that might lead us to a condition of balance. She is acutely aware, however, that life in this world can never attain the condition of an ideal balance: it is merely a utopia. In this sense, the exhibition of “Symmetrical Sanctuary” also signifies the artist’s new ideas and attitude. After feeling rather depressed due to the pressures of the market, Christine has now a more open and easy-going attitude in responding to the market. On the other hand, she demands the opposite for members of the audience who wish to own her work. They who want to buy her work must be willing to keep their ego in check. Christine wants them to sit down and discuss and find a certain point of balance in determining the parts of the works to be collected. At the end of the exhibition, the twenty-meter painting will be cut in parts, as per the agreement among the collectors who have been willing to sit down and discuss.

Christine seems to have prepared everything as a thorough construction of meanings. The external structure of the space that seems strong and rigid protects the fragile painting, seemingly symbolizing a firm and hard outer body whose inside remains supple and fragile. The invitation for the audience to step into the sanctuary seems to be an invitation to sit down and share things, to understand one another and let go of our ego. The willingness of the artist to cut her works into many parts also signifies the effort of the artist to suppress her ego, and at the same time serves as a catharsis for her to let go of the burden of the past. It also signifies more mature and optimistic views of the artist in facing the future.