Adi Jumaadi - Artist Biography
Ajining dhiri ana ing lathi – ajining salira ana ing busana, is an old Javanese wisdom about the way we should lead our lives meaning that a person’s self worth comes from the strength of their words and a person’s greatness comes from their attire. Consequently the life and truth that we pursue is an indication of the faith of the outside world in us. Art is an illusion and the clothes that I wear to express my intellectual and emotional milieu relate both to my outer and inner world.
I agree with the words of Picasso that “art is lies to reveal the truth”, but I also believe that the illusions created by artists are a sequence of realities. Jackson Pollock thought that the illusions created by artists in the process of producing works were not accidents but rather a subconscious awareness. One characteristic of contemporary life is the narrowing of boundaries between day and night, dark and light, good and bad. However the al-Koran explains that this is one of the signs of the end of time where it is increasingly difficult to differentiate between truth and the primordial, men and women, fauna and flora.
In addition, my artwork is a palette where I mix colours of my beliefs and doubts about reality and illusion. It is strongly influenced by naivety and unconscious experiences. Like Kandinsky I believe that every element found in nature has a soul, including the dry grass, old shoes found in a rubbish bin and shirt buttons at the side of the road. Their voices are more often silent than heard. Each word and letter, line and colour, note and sound has a soul which resides within a home inside my works of art.
| 1973: | Born in Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia |
| 1994-95: | Art Educator – PPLH (Environmental Education Centre) Seloliman, East Java |
| 1995-96: | Radio Presenter, Panorama Radio, Prigen, East Java |
| 1997-2000: | Bachelor of Fine Art - National Art School, Sydney |
| 1998: | Group Exhibition “From Sydney to Alice” Bondi Beach Pavilion |
| Amnesty International Group Show, Tap Gallery, Darlinghurst | |
| 1999: | Australian Volunteers International Exhibition for East Timor, Sydney Office Surrey Hills |
| “Three of Us” Group Show, KulturShop Gallery, Bronte | |
| 2000: | Selected for group show “drawing week” National Art School, Mary Place Gallery, Paddington |
| Graduating Students Exhibition, National Art School | |
| 2001: | Group Exhibition, Bondi Wadi Gallery, Woollahra |
| 2002: | Winner of Waverly Art Prize |
| Selected for Mosman Art Prize | |
| Self-funded Residency, 3 months in Indonesia | |
| Solo Exhibition “The Green Paintings” , French Cultural Centre, Surabaya, Indonesia | |
| Solo Exhibition “Dreams & Memories”, Hill on Hargrave Gallery, Woollahra | |
| Group Exhibition “Christmas Show”, Hill on Hargrave Gallery | |
| 2003: | Selected for Salon de Refuses, SH Erwin Gallery Sydney |