Artwork calling for preservation of cultural heritage wins the 2021 UOB Painting of the Year (Indonesia) award

Jakarta, 29 October 2021 – UOB Indonesia today awarded the 2021 UOB Painting of the Year (Indonesia) award to Ms Meliantha Muliawan for her painting titled “Even After Death, The Departed Lives Life”. In her artwork, the 29 year-old artist from Pontianak, West Kalimantan, reminded Indonesians of the Chinese traditional ritual of burning joss paper. Considered less relevant today, this tradition symbolised a form of respect to ancestors and signified the coexistence of life and death.

Even After Death, The Departed Lives Life Death, The Departed Lives Life Meliantha Muliawan 2021 UOB Painting of the Year (Indonesia) Bordir di tyvek

The first female of the Indonesian award winner, Ms Muliawan said that inherited Chinese cultural practices are becoming less in practice today. In her artwork, she created replicas of porcelain, using material that resembles paper, as if to restore objects that were once owned by her ancestors as an effort to preserve her cultural tradition.

Muliawan said, “My artwork was inspired by a 15th century Ming dynasty porcelain shard found in the Java Sea that I received from a friend. Personally, I practiced the 'joss paper burning' tradition as an attempt to send material goods to my deceased relatives who would benefit from a happy and prosperous afterlife. As a professional artist, I hope to understand and to remind others of our historical roots. Through art, we are passing on tradition and helping to preserve our cultural heritage as a way of paying respect and homage to our ancestors. I am honoured to receive the 2021 UOB Painting of the Year (Indonesia) Award and I look forward to representing Indonesia in competing for the UOB Southeast Asian Painting of the Year Award in Singapore next month.”

As the top winner of the 2021 UOB Painting of the Year (Indonesia) competition, Ms Muliawan received a cash prize of IDR250 million. Her artwork will compete with the winning entries from Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand for the UOB Southeast Asian Painting of the Year Award which will be announced virtually on 26 November 2021 in Singapore. Ms Muliawan will also stand a chance to win a one-month residency programme at the renowned Fukuoka Asian Art Museum in Japan or at UOB Art Gallery in Shanghai, China.

The winning artist impressed the panel of judges comprising Indonesia’s established art experts and curators. They were Mr Agung Hujatnikajennong, an independent curator and a lecturer at the Bandung Institute of Technology, Mrs Natasha Sidharta, an art collector, and Mrs Mella Jaarsma, a contemporary artist and founder of Cemeti Institute for Art and Society.

Commenting on the winning artwork, Mr Hujatnikajennong said, “Using her embroidery technique on tyvec, the artist has demonstrated her strong conceptual gesture of preserving her cultural identity and traditional practices that have now become a rare ritual. Her visualisation of the ancient dynasty porcelain signifies the importance of protecting the sense of who we are, our values, beliefs and traditions, which enable us to understand previous generations and the history of where they come from.”

In the Emerging Artist1 Category, 28-year-old Mr Chrisna Fernand won the 2021 UOB Most Promising Artist of the Year award for his painting titled Leviathan (Giant). The artwork highlights the urgency to transform Indonesia to a lower-carbon economy through the use of renewable energy. Energy use in Indonesia has been long dominated by fossil resources that contribute to global warming as well as water and air pollution. Hoping to raise awareness of the eco-friendly movement, the artist created an artwork that serves as a reminder that the government and private sectors should take immediate actions to revitalise the energy sector and to achieve substantial economic and social benefits.

Leviathan (Raksasa) Chrisna Fernand 2021 UOB Most Promising Artist of the Year Minyak di atas karton dan kanvas

Sandiaga Salahudin Uno, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia, who was present virtually said, “The Indonesian economy, particularly the creative economy, is currently ranked in the top three globally after the United States and Korea in terms of GDP contribution. The government, through the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, will continue to facilitate the development of creative industry by building a strong ecosystem from upstream to downstream. We hope that this can encourage creative businesses to contribute more to the country’s economy.”

Hendra Gunawan, President Director, UOB Indonesia, said that since 2011, UOB Indonesia has been consistently contributing to the community, opening minds and hearts through art, children and education. Through the UOB Painting of the Year competition, the Bank encourages artists to share their ideas and creativity through art and to inspire critical thinking among the public.

“The UOB Painting of the Year competition is an avenue to connect local artists to more opportunities on the regional and international art stage. For more than a decade, we have nurtured, discovered and supported generations of artists from across Indonesia as they unleash their creative thinking and share their experiences through art. We are proud to have received yet another year of record entries from both established and emerging artists from across the country and that many Indonesian artworks created by talented artists have been recognised as UOB Southeast Asian Painting of the Year winners2 . I would like to congratulate all winners and I hope that they will continue to pursue their passion and to achieve even greater success in their artistic career.”

Since the pandemic outbreak in 2020, UOB Indonesia has enabled art submissions digitally, providing an avenue for participants across all regions of Indonesia. This year, the competition invited local artists and the public to submit their artworks online from 29 April to 7 August 2021.

A total of the 41 finalist artworks, including the eight winning ones from the 2021 UOB Painting of the Year competition, will be exhibited virtually at the Art Moments Jakarta Online 2 (AMJO2) virtual space that can be accessed through www.artmomentsjakarta.com from 22 November to 21 December 2021. In addition, 15 winning and finalist artworks along with artists’ artworks represented by AMJO2 participating galleries can be viewed offline at the CAN’s gallery from 3 to 5 December 2021.

The winning paintings from the 2021UOB Painting of the Year (Indonesia) competition are:

Established Artist Category

Emerging Artist Category