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Taman Bacaan Danarto (Danarto reading park) as part of the 17th Istanbul Biennial (at the Barın Han Studio). September 17th – November 20th 2022

“The changes that occur to me are related to the
conditions of the space or place.”
~ Danarto, 1983

The Hyphen — research group began collecting Danarto’s documents, photos, interviews, ephemera, etc in 2016, some two years before the artist’s passing. In 2020-21, with the support of the Istanbul Biennial, they extended their thinking and research by forming a larger, multidisciplinary group called Danarto dkk (‘Danarto and friends’). After more than a year of bi-weekly conversations around the diverse materials uncovered, and a public sharing platform in Yogyakarta, they proposed for Istanbul a presentation framed by a series of untitled Danarto works featuring spatial arrangements of unpainted canvases which variations also sometimes involve the use of mirrors and always in consideration of how light would fall onto the installation. The series is cited in various names, though for ease of reference we will refer to them as Danarto’s ‘White Works’. The characteristics of the series, and studies arising from them – both as historical objects and as thought experiments in the present – provided the tools for building the Danarto dkk presentation in the biennial.

The concepts and tools deriving from the ‘White Works’ resemble known strategies of certain modern art: a geometry which makes apparent the infinite possibilities of reading and consummating the work; the opportunity for unforeseen, chance experiences to emerge from that encounter; the embrace of other ‘environmental’ elements (live interactions, weather, light and so on) by the artist’s configuration of space; and the emphasis on process which was a crucial mantra for Danarto. Yet however universal these tropes may seem, they will also be defamiliarised in this presentation, in keeping with Danarto’s singular practice.

Working with these elements, Danarto dkk will present an installation activated by live and audio-visual programming designed to open up Danarto’s legacy and expand the conversation around it; along with select artworks and archival materials brought into focus by the group’s ongoing research.

Taman Bacaan Danarto (literally: Danarto Reading Park)
‘Taman Bacaan’ is a term used for libraries set up in various towns and villages all throughout the Indonesian archipelago. So instead of approaching the exhibition visitors as viewers, we want to treat them as people coming into libraries as they automatically become an active agent who comes to the library to read, to be a part of the set up.

Taman Bacaan Danarto hosts books, archival materials, radio programs, photo documentations, and artworks of (and related to) Danarto. The materials brought into the library are selected based on the tools and keywords indicated in bold in the introduction and framed into the triangular relationship between concretism, sufism, and worlds/realms —in bahasa, both ‘alam’ (Turkish: doğal?) and ‘dunia’ (Turkish: dunya). These materials also relate to the programming in the space.

Publication in Buzdokuz poetry magazine
We published Featuring a selection of archives selected by Danarto dkk in Buzdokuz 13 (September-October 2022), pg. 81-85, as groundwork research for our presentation in the biennial and Danarto dkk’s introduction –– to and for –– the convergence between Danarto and practices in Turkey.

Live element based on Nayamullah
Saleh Husein and Julian Abraham ‘Togar’ formed a band called Nayamullah. The name derives from the word lumayan (meaning mediocre, so-so or “it’s okay” in Bahasa Indonesia), spelled backwards. This phrase emerged during one of our conversations on Danarto’s attitude of indifference towards many aspects of the world yet strong belief in the potential of each element to reach the ultimate point of God-ness quality. In its development, Nayamullah adapted Danarto’s Teater Tanpa Penonton (Theatre without Spectator) concept into a band without fixed membership or defined roles as well as a (radio) station which became a platform for Danarto dkk to invite others, expand conversations, and creatively air our thoughts and research. Nayamullah opened studio or open rehearsal space in Barin Han that was activated periodically over the course of the biennial. Forms of activation are (though not limited to): jamming sessions, workshop, performance, and live broadcast to Ragadigiogo Station.

Iqra; an assembly/seminar-like platform
IQRA with Danarto dkk. is an online seminar-like platform event that we held in conjunction with Taman Bacaan Danarto in Istanbul. Titled after the Arabic word iqraʾthat means “read/recite”, the idea is to open the Danarto dkk. routine conversation to the public as well as expanding the conversation with other practitioners and their views on one/several related issues departed from works of Danarto that Danarto dkk. members are interested in.