Taring Padi

Taring Padi was founded in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in 1998 by a group of progressive art students and activists in response to the Indonesian sociopolitical upheavals during the reformation era. Consequently, Taring Padi’s artistic practice is always part of and contextualises within socio-political and cultural action and solidarity with a wide range of communities and social groups. Taring Padi’s works and solidarity actions are manifested in collective works in the form of woodcut posters, large size banners, rontek (pennant), cardboard puppets, music, carnival and other art actions. In summer 2022 Taring Padi participated in documenta fifteen with a presentation of two decades artefact of direct political actions. Entitled “Bara Solidaritas/Flame of Solidarity”, the presentation in Kassel, Germany also included more than 1,000 cardboard puppets, which were made in collaboration with communities in Indonesian, the Netherlands, Germany, USA, and Australia who took part in the collective workshops. This is followed by a major show at the Framer Framed in Amsterdam, Tanah Merdeka/Liberated Land” (2023) which displayed a large-scale banner created in collaboration with Brazilian Jews diaspora organisation Casa Do Povo and Landless Peasant Movement (MST). The upcoming solo show, “Tanah Tumpah Darah/The Land where We Spill Our Blood to Defend It” will take place at the Griffith University Art Museum, Brisbane in March 2024 and will feature, among others, a large-scale banner in collaboration with First Nation art collective ProppaNow. 

Along with the exhibitions activities, Taring Padi continues its core work of direct political actions. For example, together with villagers of Nguter, Sukoharjo in Central Java, Taring Padi campaign and fight a court battle against the RUM textile factory that has been disposing toxic waste in the river in the past 6 years. In December 2024, they lost in court and appealed. Meanwhile the struggle continues.