Titarubi (b. 1968) graduated from the Ceramic Studio at the Department of Fine Arts, Faculty of Art and Design, Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB). Trained as a ceramist, she has expanded her skills to include sculpture and installations.  Titarubi first attracted public attention with her installation of ceramic children’s heads with Arabic inscriptions.  Earlier, she had presented an installation dealing with the issues of babies born by in-vitro fertilization.  She then went on to challenge stereotypes and cultural constructions, exploring the position of men and women in society, and experimenting with materials for their impact on defining gender characteristics.  She is also inspired by social political and historical connotations and continues to explore the rich cultural and ethnic heritage of Nusantara, the Indonesian archipelago.

For Titarubi, knowledge and science are the pillars of Sakti, which she reveals with the pavilion’s installation The Shadow of Surrender featuring school benches made from burnt wood with thick open books placed on them, a metaphor for education and the length of time and perseverance needed to acquire knowledge.  The charcoal drawing, accompanying this installation, of burnt and ashen trees reference the school benches, as well as the cycle of life, death and regeneration (burnt trees in the forest are fertilizers from which new trees will emerge).  This cycle of continuity is also revealed within the cut frames for the drawing.  The artist juxtaposes the process of acquiring knowledge and science with the colonial past and environmental destruction.

www.titarubi.com