Tromarama: Growing Pillars

EVENT DESCRIPTION

M+ is pleased to present Growing Pillars, a new moving image commission by Indonesian artist collective Tromarama. The work will be displayed on the M+ Facade at night from Friday, 6 October to Sunday, 31 December 2023, and will be enriched by a series of animation workshops.

Growing Pillars envisages the M+ Facade as a giant monument on the Hong Kong skyline. With this commission, Tromarama—consisting of Febie Babyrose, Herbert Hans, and Ruddy Hatumena—challenges the conception of monuments and their ownership, iconography, and value in contemporary society. The collective selected objects, video clips, and images from their personal archives, such as family photos, cassettes, and books, to compose a filmic movement overlaid by animated objects from their childhood homes. The symbols and motifs reflect the beauty and turbulence of life, evoking the intimacy of home and the intricacy of memory. Although personal archives are fragile, they serve as foundational support for growth and forming one’s worldview. The moving collage is layered with cleaning gestures inspired by the Balinese tradition of Melukat, a ritual that purifies the body, mind, and soul.

Growing Pillars is infused with emotion, care and humour. Presented on M+ Facade, it creates an ambiguous space where the personal and the societal, the private and the public collide.

Coinciding with the presentation of Growing Pillars, Tromarama will hold a family workshop at M+, inviting adults and children to create stop-motion animation with family objects and share their memories. The artist-led session on Saturday, 7 October 2023 is now available for online registration. Additional sessions led by M+ Educators will take place in November 2023 as part of the museum’s Family Day programme. For workshop and ticketing details, please refer to the M+ website.

ABOUT THE ARTIST / ORGANISER

Tromarama is a Jakarta- and Bandung-based artist collective founded in 2006 by Febie Babyrose, Herbert Hans, and Ruddy Hatumena. The trio met while studying at the Institute Technology of Bandung, and soon they started to create works that combined video, installation, computer programming, and public participation. Underpinning their artmaking is their interest in the influence of digital media on society’s perception of its surroundings. Channelling language, text, wit, and interaction, Tromarama reflects on the cornerstones of Indonesia’s political and cultural environment as well as perceptive engagement in our global hyperreality.