Objects With(out) Meaning (Text and Context)
You See Half, You Get Half (2012), Wimo Ambala Bayang explores the relationship between objects, perception, and meaning within contemporary visual art. Stones are chosen not as symbols loaded with narrative, but as neutral objects that open up new possibilities of interpretation. This interest emerged from the artist’s visual experience of encountering massive stones scattered across areas affected by a volcanic eruption in Yogyakarta — a simple yet powerful memory.Through real stones and resin-made imitation stones, Wimo questions the boundaries between original and imitation, natural and artificial, as well as how meaning is shaped by social context and the art system itself. In several works, words such as original, fake, holy, and worthy are engraved onto the stones, creating an interplay between text, object, and perception. Language no longer functions merely as explanation, but becomes part of the visual construction itself.With a minimal yet ironic approach, these works invite viewers to question categories often accepted as fixed. Stones appear not only as everyday objects, but also as metaphors for representation, illusion, and the ways humans assign meaning to the world around them.
Curatorial text adapted from writing by Alia Swastika