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By Dyah Ayu Pitaloka on 11:35 am January 19, 2014.Category Arts & Culture, Arts & Fashion, Life & StyleTags: indonesian art exhibition

For French Artist, Mesh Skirt Makes More ThanJust a Fashion Statement

The crinoline dress by French artist Enora Lalet, left, made of wire mesh and woven bamboo. Theartist says the work symbolizes a mix of cultures and ideologies. (JG Photo/Dyah Ayu Pitaloka)

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There is a sense of theatricality and deep philosophy behind the crinoline dress created by Frenchartist Enora Lalet. Standing three meters tall and two meters wide and made out of wire mesh andbamboo, the art installation is not only gigantic, but also masculine and upon closer observation,Indonesian.

Lalet says she deliberately created this confusion of symbolism, taking what is quintessentiallyVictorian, European, luxurious and feminine into modern art, which represents something local, rusticand manly.

“A crinoline dress is something which was used by rich women in France in the 18th century. But here[in Indonesia] the shape resembles a chicken coop. A dress in Europe represents femininity, while achicken coop in Java symbolizes chicken fights and weaving techniques, which is very masculine,” shesays.

Lalet has been living in Batu, East Java, as part of a residency program supported by the InstitutFrancais d’Indonesie; Insomnium, an art collective based in Surabaya; and a number of other artcollectives and cultural centers in East Java, where she learned much about Javanese culture.

Assisted by fellow French artist Michael Merino in the technical design aspect, Lalet spent two monthsmaking the dress, filling it with Javanese and European symbolism.

The installation is part of an exhibition titled “Makan Kebudayaan” or “Eat Culture” at Raos Gallery,Batu, which opened in October and runs through Saturday.

As part of the exhibition, Lalet will stage a theatrical performance at Omah Budaya Slamet, a local artand culture center, using the dress on Monday.

The installation is made out of steel wires welded together, while the shape of the crinoline dress isheld with woven bamboo, giving it a striking resemblance to an oversized, Javanese chicken coop.

Visitors can walk inside the dress’s interior through an opening made by crisscrossing red thread. Theopening is shaped like a yoni, a Javanese shape that resembles a vagina and symbolizes femininityand fertility, while the whole installation is supported by bamboo columns shaped like the Javanesesymbol of masculinity, lingga.

“If you go inside it is like being in a mother’s womb. Meanwhile the dress [and its supporting columns]are made of woven [bamboo] and steel which are masculine. [The dress] is a symbol of genderequality,” Lalet says.

The artist named her work “Makan Kebudayaan” to symbolize her efforts to understand and exerciseJavanese culture. Philosophically, eating is more than just ingesting food; it is also the process ofgaining energy and living from the nutrients you put in your body.

The performance on Monday is a collaboration between Lalet and a number of local performanceartists. The performance, Lalet said, will involve dancing and live body painting around the installation.Lalet will also perform.Lalet’s art has brought something fresh to the small East Java town, says Slamet Hendro Kusuma, alocal artist.

“Enora brings a message about humanity,” he says. “Installation art in Batu is nothing new, but Enorabrings a new ideology.”

Slamet, who has been exchanging ideas with Lalet during her two months in Indonesia, calls her worka “cultural synthesis” that breeds one-of-a-kind three-dimensional art.

Makan Kebudayaan by Enora Lalet Exhibition: Through Jan. 18Omah Budaya SlametJalan Imam Bonjol, Bumiaji,Batu, East Java Performance: Jan. 20Galeri RaosJalan Panglima Sudirman,Batu, East Java

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wally • 22 days ago

what a load of bollocks

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Gracious Store • a month ago

This is interesting how an artist synthesizes culture with fashion

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