Studio Batu is a Yogyakarta-based multidiscipline studio established in 2013. We are consisting of artists from wide ranging background namely fine art, film, music, photography, and architecture. Film was our gate to embark on this story-telling journey. Among our initial films are Lembusura (2014, Berlinalle), In the Year of Monkey (2016, Awarded Semain de la Critique, Cannes).
In the last 2 years, we have been developing our artistic articulation using mixed-platform and texture such as puppet, lights, shadow, 2D mapping, and other visual elements. In 2019, we presented two performances of our own. “While You’re Away”—supported by Djarum Foundation—depicts the nexus between love story, tragedy, and memory. Different from our first repertoire, “Your Tail is Red”—supported by Yayasan Kelola—explore the works of othering through representation, history, ideology, and myth. In this our latest work, we attempt to go over with our artistic vocabulary as well as our exploration on everyday narratives.
We gradually realise that Everyday Modern Myth—which manifest in various forms of today’s life—has been our window to set up articulation, tell story, dig into meaning, and to understand the zeitgeist of the contemporary world. In turning those aims into arts, we always believe in the spirit of the seriousness of our playfulness. That pivotal spirit has been and will always be apparent in our Films, Visual Performances, and other mediums.