Indonesian Noise

Hypatia Vourloumis' presentation brings Taring Padi’s polyphonic practice, and their emphasis on, and renderings of, the ‘people’ (rakyat) into dialogue with the phenomenon of the Indonesian national language (Bahasa Indonesia). 

The talk builds on years-long research on differing performances of Indonesian language. Vourloumis traces the ways in which this constructed language first emerges as an anticolonial political project and its institutional standardisation post-independence in 1949. Further, she looks to the performances of aesthetic, poetic and linguistic breakdowns after the 1965-66 genocide and during Suharto’s New Order era of dictation and censorship, 1967-1998. 

The discussion also considers the current moment and the popular, active Indonesian noise scene across the archipelago. The presentation will include poetry reading and listening, and focus on questions surrounding the politics of communication; the ‘people’; language, hegemony, and cultural resistance; the materiality of language, and paralanguage as insurgent matter. 

The talk will be moderated by curator Odessa Warren, followed by audience Q&A.

Doors open at 5.30pm; event starts at 6pm and ends at 7.30pm.

Image credit: Cover of Sutardji Calzoum Bachri’s Amuk: Sajak Sajak (Amok: Poems), Jakarta: Kesejahteraan Karyawan Pusat Kesenian Jakarta, 1977.