Introduction

Abstract

In response to the journal’s inaugural theme of “Discomfort”, the Artists’ Projects section presents two artworks that suggest an understanding of history in modern and contemporary Southeast Asia and a confrontation with systemic belief structures, as well as an active process of excavating stories. They are expressions of ambivalence towards differing histories in Southeast Asia. First, the documentation of live sculptures forming Getah Bening (2015) by Shooshie Sulaiman and Wayan Darmadi offers a glimpse into a secretly located artwork, in which the artists created portraits of three leaders from Southeast Asia’s post-independence history by carving directly onto rubber trees—a plant that has been vital to the region’s economy. Second, Towards Figures of Dedication, and a Flood (2015) is a transcript of a video interview conducted by Tom Nicholson with Grace Samboh with Pak Edhi, Sukarno’s most trusted sculptor, and the artist commissioned to create monuments during Jakarta’s independence era including the iconic Selamat Datang Monument from 1962.