(Curatorial introduction by Tommy Ari Wibowo)
One Day Art Project (O.D.A.P) is the name of the activity that is initiated by the Arief Hadinata aka Hokage and Pemuda Serbaguna collective. They had been long enough engaging in street art movement Semarang. Art Vacation is a concept that they choose to O.D.A.P activity. As the name implies this art project is only take one day, although the preparation takes days and days but the execution of the artwork just take a day. In 2015 they are able to make as much as six artworks in different places, such as Gunung Pati, Jepara, Kebumen, Magelang and Tegal. This open project invites several artists who want to participate and take vacation to some places that is, base on previous research, considered important. Through graffiti they try to campaign the site that is neglected but has important history. Beside their background as a street artists, mural / graffiti is selected as media that is capable of conveying to public lightly, so the art as a language of expression can be achieved. Hopefully, people around the site will be aware of how important the site, appreciate it, pride and take care of it..
Although art vacation or pleasure art sound playful, but it also offers a dialogue because in this concept artists is forced to come out of the cage (read: Semarang) and work in the other places. In majority, Semarang artists too lazy to get out of town, and vacation art becomes fascination and successfully gain its public. Dozens of artists participated since its first held until now, although in practice they are demanded to work their artwork seriously. The positive effect is many emerging artists that able to create a healthy climate of art scene in Semarang.
If we review from the initial appearance of O.D.A.P, it’s just alternative way of State University of Semarang (UNNES) students to spend time in college holiday. In 2014, the five-years event of president election in Indonesia was taken place. Do not want to get stuck into political issues, they imagine an activity on campus corner of Art and Language Faculty (FBS) UNNES that time. At that time they invite some friends to create a mural on the walls of the campus that typically used to create mural. Without imagining a serious activity in the name of sustainability, their motive is simply just to have fun channeling creativity. Feel engrossed by this activity, few months later they held cardboard festival which is still located at the corner of the campus that familiar with the name “Bridge of Love”.
After several activities they imagined to do activities outside the campus. Later on, these activities become the embryo of vacation concept, and finally in 2015 they decided to travel to Bandengan Beach, Jepara. There isn’t much partisipant back then, only 10 people. They just bring thair equipment without knowing how and where they will execute the graffiti. There was just a vast of white sand and abandoned building, a broke one because of abration. They imagine do the graffiti to those ruin walls, and they start to ask some residents about that building. Some local residents said that the building was fish market and lot of others told an interesting information regarding that building. So, base on that information they concept the mural to respond the building.
Basically art vacation concept emerged after the third ODAP. Then they start to agree to make this activity as collective work, respond to some locations or site that consider important and have a holiday at the same time. Wonosobo was the fourth place that they visit where they found a lighthouse, while in Magelang they found water tub to make a graffiti. In Tegal city, they make mural on public toilet.
Most of their work talked about local residents daily activities. Hokage himself try to portray daily object that familiar with local residents, for example he mural a fisherman that is sleeping, while Pemuda Serbaguna more into the social life of local residents. SAM, one of the artist in ODAP, try to draw some fishes in an interesting cartoon form in Tegal city.
Their dream is simple, as Hokage said that before try to change someone, its better if we change ourself, in a good way, first. They do not try to make local residents, where they do the graffiti, aware. But its more likely to encourage young artists to keep working. Struggle to come off from their habit and try something that they never done before, event if it has been done before on the other place.
Through “Untuk Perhatian! #1” exhibition program under Hysteria artlab, invite ODAP to represent their documentation and journey story. Not only in a form of VIdeo or Photo, but also their own language of expression through mural to tell the whole journey, personally.
