Woven Textile
Collectible & Craft
The fear that grew over Pancasila, the Indonesian state’s foundation, sparked a desire to create works that may serve as an illustrative guide for the meaning of identity or national identity for current and future generations. Handojo Simodiharjo had the opportunity to build a landscape of plants and massive reliefs in the region of the Jakarta National Monument (Monas) prior to making the visualization work of Kakawin Sutasoma. This monument represents the heart of Indonesia, so he thought it is best if it is well-protected, as well as Pancasila, which is also the foundation for the Indonesian state’s formation. Shortly after that, Handoyo found the Kakawin (Poetry) Sutasoma and surprisingly enough it was all related. He found out that it also discussed a lot about Kebhinekaan, Merah-Putih, and Garuda; all of which are the roots of the founding of Pancasila itself. The process of creating this Sutasoma representation, which was done using the Chinese Ink on Paper technique, has taken 12 years and has now reached a length of around 35 meters and a height of 1.5 meters. Even now, it is still in the process of being completed. According to Handojo, the outline of this book tells about Mpu Tantular’s journey about how to live as a leader, how to lead one’s own life, lead a community, and even lead a country. Therefore, this book is the root of the ideology of the Indonesian nation, “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika” which means unity in diversity of Indonesia, a nation consisting of various cultures, races, ethnicities, regional languages, and beliefs.