Get Saturated in Coastal Vision by Ardneks and Jordan, jordan Édition
Last Thursday (30/11) found Dia.Lo.Gue bustling with excitement with the official launch event of Coastal Vision: Heavily-saturated Tropicália–the creative brainchild of Kendra Ahimsa, better known as Ardneks, and Jordan Marzuki, founder of Jordan, jordan Édition. The event was their book come to life. Created in collaboration with Mata Studio, the mini-exhibition invites visitors to step into Ardneks’s saturated world.
Coastal Vision walks you through Kendra’s metaphorical creative journey from the monochrome to the kaleidoscopic style he’s renowned for today. With the assistance of fictional radio DJs across the globe and beyond, it captivatingly documents Kendra’s decade-long creative voyage. The book is a feast for the eyes and truly a monograph like no other.
The book launch was inaugurated with opening remarks from Kendra and Jordan as well as Agra Satria from Mata Studio, Nin Djani, and Reno Nismara. As you step into the space, each and every radio DJ is showcased on hanging fabric displays. Across is the book cover materialized. A room covered from floor to ceiling in Kendra’s work, and entrance for any and all visitors into his world actualized.
“With the exhibition I was more focused on how the exhibition can be enjoyed by everyone,” Jordan began. “So we didn’t want to make it too complicated by [using] confusing narratives. Instead, we played more with visuals that anyone can enjoy which is also part of the book’s intention,” Jordan elaborated. He continued to explain that the exhibition is an extension of the book where visitors are welcomed to browse the book as well as peruse through Kendra’s sketches and, “you can also ‘step into’ the book because we designed this [exhibition] exactly like the cover of the book where [visitors] can do simple things like take pictures.”
“It was actually quite a long process,” said Jordan, elaborating on how the book launch came to be. Jordan and Kendra had talked of holding a book launch at Dia.Lo.Gue Artspace since early November but with the already long list of exhibitions waiting to be held at at the venue that month, the timing of the book launch was rather tricky to maneuver they wanted to make the most of the small available space, initially planning to hold the exhibition in one of Dia.Lo.Gue’s meeting rooms with a replica of Kendra’s desk as the centerpiece–a recreation of Kendra’s colorful creative space.
Kendra explained that as it was the first time either of them were pursuing a more interactive installation beyond just prints and figures, they got Mata Studio involved in developing the space. “I thought Kendra’s exhibition had to be handled by someone who shared our vision, not just someone who only handles artworks.” Jordan said, explaining why Mata Studio was the perfect collaborator in this venture. Jordan had seen their previous work with clothing brand Sejauh Mata Memandang and other brands, noting Mata Studio’s thoughtfulness and attention to detail. “So we thought we had to work with Mata Studio to actualize an installation that was thoughtful enough instead of something lifeless,” Jordan clarified.
“From mine and Jordan’s side, we’re not as experienced with making installations like this,” Kendra began. “We might have had ideas, but we struggled to realize those ideas in terms of deciding what was feasible and what wasn’t. What was possible and what wasn’t.” With Agra’s extensive experience, he was able propose possibilities that Kendra and Jordan hadn’t thought possible even with the limited time and space available. As their vision aligned, there was no room to butt heads–the preparation process was smooth going with Agra at the helm.
For Kendra, maintaining his creative voice in the launch and exhibition was key. “Because, I’m not too critical or conceptual in terms of my creative process, I’m quite straightforward in that sense with bright colors and highly-saturated just like the title of the book. So the [aim] was always to transfer the energy of my work visually so people can experience that first hand but, like Jordan said earlier, not through the format of prints but in a way where people can ‘enter’ the images [I create]. So, that’s why we laid out the exhibition this way,” Kendra explained.
When asked about the challenges of the process, Kendra explained, “This book is a monograph right. When I was first asked to create this monograph, my main concern was that I would become an open book as a preston. Because the interviews in the book dives deep into my life. But, on the other hand, I didn’t feel like I had anything in particular to hide. So maybe through this book, this can become an extension of myself and the people visiting, whether it be those already familiar with my work or not, can see ‘Oh, this is the type of artworks Ardneks makes, it’s really colorful.” Jordan added, “I just want it to be as open as possible. I didn’t want to gatekeep this to a specific crowd. Because the space is free and Dia.Lo.Gue always holds exhibitions that are free but still thoughtful.” The exhibition is open for visits at Dia.Lo.Gue until December 6th. Head to Jordan, jordan Édition’s website to see how you can snag a copy of Coastal Vision: Heavily-Saturated Tropicália.
