My inspiration for this piece of work is What Would You Do If These Rice Crackers Were Real Pistols?’ By F.X Harsono (1977).

F.X Harsono was an Indonesian contemporary artist in the late 20th century. He has made over 45 pieces of art. I was amazed at how this artwork was presented, the history behind the painting and how it was a protest against former Indonesian President Suharto’s military junta. I also loved how next to the piece of art, there was a desk with a notebook and a pen on it so people could write down what they would do if the rice crackers were real pistols. This meant that people could write their opinions and compare what they would do to other people’s answers.
In my art piece, I have incorporated yellow triangles. The colour yellow makes me think of the sun. When I went to Indonesia I saw many beautiful mountains, shining in the sun. In the background of my artwork, I have used dark squares. These dark squares symbolises the hatred Harsono had for the Indonesian President at the time. I have made them black because when I think of black, I think of hate and negativity, which is what F.X Harsono felt. In my painting I have also used pink circles. These circles represent bruises and burns. This is because many people have been hurt due to violence, which is what the artwork is about. The background of my painting is orange and when I went to Jakarta, the orange and yellow sunrises were my favourite thing, and this contrasts the history of the country. If you also look towards the bottom of my artwork, you can see that I have used newspaper pieces in my artwork. This symbolises the words and protests against the Indonesian president of the time, and press censorship.
The numbers I have used are 1620 and 900 (九百.) The number 1620 represents how many seconds it takes to make a rice cracker. The number 900 symbolises how many kilometres it is from Jakarta, Indonesia (where F.X Harsono lives) and Singapore (where I live.) My painting stands as a symbolic reinvention of Harsono’s installation; a painting of violence and hatred but a love for his people and his people’s words & opinion.