Zahaan Tambawala

What Would You Do If These Crackers Were Actual Pistols? By F. X. Harsono 1949, 74 years old, is the source of my inspiration. I believe that F.X. Harsono employs a simple question to elicit the viewer's consideration of how deeply ingrained violence is in society. It consists of a desk, a pile of crackers shaped like pistols, and a notebook for audience responses. It is one of Indonesia's first participatory artworks. FX Harsono is a seminal figure in the Indonesian contemporary art scene. Since his student days he has been an active critic of Indonesian politics, society and culture, always updating his artistic language to the current new social and cultural contexts. When I saw the artwork, it was the first installation I had seen. I was amazed that art could be so three dimensional as an installation telling a story rather than as a simple painting.

I think the 3D aspect shows different perspectives of the piece. And you are freer to interpret it in your own way. That is why I incorporated it in my work. My artwork focuses on my battle with cancer and how I overcame it; the manipulated wire-rod gun is meant to resemble a radiation machine that is blasting the cancer cells. Additionally, the number seven is symbolic of my age when I beat cancer; my radiotherapy treatment concluded on my seventh birthday, and the cancer cells are depicted in the backdrop on cardboard. I chose cardboard because when soaked in water it disintegrates like cells under radiation. The white squares in the backdrop are crackers, which stand in for the cracker aspects of the original installation. The red floor represents blood with the red blotches as blood cells. The pink colour represents the brain and the tangled string around the piece to represent all the neutrons in it.