Agus Wijaya: Nari nanarian

"Dance embodies the notion of the universe being in a constant state of change and a means to connect with this transformative energy" - Agus Wijaya 

For artist Agus Wijaya, dance is a universal expression of joy that can connect people. His hoarding commission, Nari nanarian, celebrates the expansion of Newcastle Art Gallery by drawing on his cultural background and his long-term interest in Sundanese dance. 

In the work, Wijaya's smiling avatar performs Jaipong, a dance style that first appeared in Indonesia in 1974. In Jaipong , dancers can loop the steps forwards or backwards, symbolising cycles of birth, growth, and renewal. Wijaya embraced this cyclical quality when creating Nari nanarian. He generated digital imagery that combined his own experience of Jaipong with cropped and patchworked historical and contemporary images of the dance, reflecting the evolution and continuation of this unique movement from the 1970s to now. 

For Wijaya there is a synergy between Jaipong and Newcastle Art Gallery, as both represent the transformation of stories and ideas over time. Nari nanarian is a celebration of our interconnectedness and our capacity for cultivating shared joy. 

DIGITAL PROGRAM

See Agus Wijaya's avatars spring to life and perform Jaipong through an Augmented Reality filter on your Instagram app.  

This project was developed in collaboration with Agus Wijaya and Michael Blake. 

Click here to access the AR filter.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Born in Cianjur, West Java, Agus Wijaya is an Indonesian artist of Chinese background who now lives and works in Sydney. Wijaya’s practice questions the construction of both the personal and cultural self through digital abstraction, experimental sculpture and installation. His recent works engage many artistic mediums to explore identification and dis-identification, personal and cultural histories, and the bridges and glitches between ways of knowing and seeing.  

Agus Wijaya is represented by Stanley Street Gallery, Sydney.