Mulyana (Indonesia) 2023: Essay by John Silvis, curator

In 2008, Mulyana (b.1984, Bandung, Indonesia) formed his alter-ego, the Mogus (monster), which is an acronym that merges the Gurita animal (octopus) with Mulyana’s family name (Sigarantang). His colorful, knit installations are emblematic of the global social and environmental concerns we currently face and inspire a renewed responsibility for both nature and the respect of all persons.

After completing his graduate degree in art education at the University Pendidikan Indonesia in Bandung (2011), Mulyana moved to Yogyakarta in 2014 to investigate the possibility of community-based projects as an extension of his studio practice. One of the first groups of collaborators he encountered was a community of transgender women in Sorogenen village, which is well known in the Yogyakarta region. Mulyana’s signature medium of soft knit and crocheted sculptures was conceived through this partnership. 

ArtJog 2018 commissioned Mulyana to create his largest installation to date, Sea Remembers (2018). Creating an immersive environment out of knit and crocheted materials, the sculpture features an expansive underwater panorama of creatures and corals, including a three-dimensionally printed whale skeleton. The work is now included in the permanent collection of the Motomoto Museum in Jakarta, Indonesia.

In 2019, Mulyana’s works were featured at the HERMES flagship store in Singapore, a solo exhibition at FORM/The Shed in Perth, Australia, and a solo museum exhibition at the Orange County Museum of Art, Los Angeles. His works are in the collections of Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University and The Textile Museum at George Washington University.