Representation of Locality in Media Art in Yogyakarta: Dedy Shofianto's Kinetic Art Case Study

Abstract

In the development of contemporary art, the issue of identity becomes a central and important thing to be studied more deeply, especially the personal or communal identity of marginalized parties in the context of modern society. This is what makes local values elevated and become a specific, unique identity character and become the characteristic of the artist in his work. Similarly, artists in Indonesia form a qualified personal representation with specific local values based on their background. Not just dwelling on conventional media, artists explore media more broadly. New media such as digital devices, kinetics, sound and so on are felt to be able to represent the state of the surrounding environment without abandoning the local identity that remains attached. Dedy Shofianto is one of the Yogyakarta artists whose execution uses conventional media but with a different approach, where kinetic elements become an identity that is closely related to the artist, which is supported by a strong local content narrative. The visual representation and material characteristics carried have a background and cultural narrative that is a unique characteristic of each of Shofianto's works, such as the use of wood materials that are attached to Indonesia as a tropical country and the myths of the archipelago are visible representations in Shofianto's works.