The Meditative Cycles of Albert Yonathan Setyawan
"A space of a place in a space that is a place in a space of the universe. Within from without—outward to inward—inside of the outside. Past and present exist at the same time in memories of a place or any place," writes Albert Yonathan Setyawan in a small pamphlet he created for his solo exhibition, Hypnagogia | Tracing Time. The show places viewers in a quiet space, inviting them to contemplate repetition, pattern, and the never-ending cycle of existence.
ara contemporary presents this solo exhibition by the Indonesian artist based in Tokyo, who represented the Indonesian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2013. Continuing the discourse established in his previous solo exhibitions at Jogja National Museum (2023) and Tumurun Museum (2024), Hypnagogia | Tracing Time explores questions of existence within time and space through terracotta, drawing, and video; works shaped by repetition, material process, and meditative gesture.
A meditative quality permeates Albert's practice, evident not only in the physical works themselves but also in the repetitive, labour-intensive processes through which they are made. Since 2018, he has worked exclusively with terracotta, a material he considers closely tied to his cultural and geographical roots. Long associated with domestic objects across Indonesia's pottery traditions, terracotta carries both bodily and historical resonance within his work.
Through clay, Albert reflects on philosophical questions surrounding time, being, and existence. Central to the exhibition is his ongoing engagement with repetition through slip-casting, a technique widely associated with industrial production and replication. In his practice, however, repetition moves beyond efficiency and exact reproduction. Instead, repeated actions gradually transform the form itself, tracing the tension between permanence and change, precision and erosion, presence and disappearance.
This exploration is embodied in Annica, a body of work consisting of over 250 terracotta pieces replicated through slip-casting using a single mould. As each cast gradually loses detail and definition through repeated use, the work reflects on transformation while showcasing the record of time through material presence. Annica becomes an observation of all things changing around us.
Through Hypnagogia, Albert further explores the theme of change via modular compositions derived from architectural and interior spaces. Repeated geometric forms are assembled into fragmented spatial arrangements inspired by the rapid development of urban cityscapes over time – structures that eventually lose coherence.
The exhibition also features Squaring the Circle – Circling the Square, a three-channel video work documenting Albert's repeated attempts to transform a cube into a sphere and vice versa. Each failure highlights the collapse of ideal systems when subjected to repetition, expansion, and time.
Through these works, Hypnagogia | Tracing Time ultimately reflects on the nature of existence and the impossibility of escaping time and space. The exhibition is open to the public until 27 June.
