Presentation text 2005
Exergie – Butter Dance - Melati Suryodarmo
In the work of Melati Suryodarmo (Surakarta, Indonesia, 1969), the physical body is the mirror of what takes place within inner universes, the plane where ideas, feelings, concerns and abilities are revealed – such as walking on a line and keeping balance. “As long as we are conscious of our individual physical existence, the body can be a parameter of the mind. I believe that the body contains all physiological paths that influence our future and present lives”, says the Indonesian artist,who integrates the Independent Performance Group, a performance group fonded by Serbian artist Marina Abramovic. “Exergie – Butter Dance” is the reflection of her belief in the body-mirror. In the piece,Melati walks in high heels on pieces of butter; she is on the verge of slipping and falling. The act demands absolute concentration, the ability to overcome one’s limitations and quick reactions to challenges that change at every second.
“The concept for ‘Exergie’ has reached my deepest psychological dimension, and it fits, therefore, any situation I might be living. Each time I do it, I face new experiences. My work is based on a main concept that is solid and that can grow and progress alongside my life”, says the performer. A student of Marina Abramovic from 1994 to 2002, she has experimented the radical method of her teacher, who usually takes her pupils to the limits of bodily and emotional capacity through exercises, fasting or meditation. “Besides teaching me discipline and professionalism,Marina has supported me in the search for the understanding and awareness of my cultural roots and my individual being, specially through physical and mental methods that she has shared with me”, says the artist.
Suryodarmo holds a degree in International Relations, and her work features elements of Noh theatre, Butoh and Oriental dances to talk about identity, energy, politics and relationships between the body and the envi-ronment surrounding it. Her work after “Exergie” includes “Lullaby for the Ancestors” (2001), in which, in a long lilac dress, she commands a white horse, and “The Promise”(2002), when, clad in red, Suryodarmo holds an animal’s liver, an organ usually associated, in her country, with hiding problems. “I will never choose a subject that is unreal or that is not connected to my life. I can only speak of themes that interest me and that I am sure I know. Even when I speak of politics, the aim is not to represent a general opinion, but my personal view of it.”
Now, the artist ponders on silence, the theme of her next project. “If I want the world to change, I have to start with myself.The most important part of individual attitude before a political situation is to trust the mind and respect others the same way you respect yourself.”
ASSOCIAÇÃO CULTURAL VIDEOBRASIL. "15th Videobrasil International Electronic Art Festival - 'Performance.'": 6th to 25th September 2005, pp. 152 and 153, São Paulo, Brazil, 2005.