Fermentation of the Brain (2015) and other works

Overview

Heri Dono’s paintings and installations merge imagination and Indonesian folk traditions with politics and modern art. Installed at Kalba Kindergarten, Fermentation of the Brain (2015) features nine old wooden desks and benches arranged in three rows resembling a classroom. Via recycled electronics activated by pedals, two white fibreglass heads affixed to the benches nod in unison. The installation is an explicit commentary on education as propaganda during Suharto’s dictatorship (1967–1998) in Indonesia. The Foiled War of Bharatayudha (2023) is a shadow puppet performance which reinterprets the central plot of the Hindu epic The Mahabharata.