Charmed by anxiety
(Terpesona dengan Kegelisahan)
(2021-2022)
Medium
colour digital video, sound
Measurements
16 min 10 sec
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased NGV Foundation, 2022
© A+ WORKS of ART and Nadiah BAmadhaj
Gallery location
Asian Gallery Temporary Exhibition Gallery
Mezzanine linked to Level 1, NGV International
About this work
Tepersona dengan Kegelisahan (Charmed by anxiety) is based on the online viral yel-yel TNI videos made by the Indonesian military (Tentara Nasional Indonesia, TNI), which are choreographed dances depicting military power and strength. Nadiah Bamadhaj collaborated with the Garuda Merah troops from the Yogakarta Infantry Battallion 403 who perform to the popular song ‘Tepersona’, which is about unrequited love. Set against a black-theatrical space, the song and dance was edited in extreme slow motion, where the sound is like that of a dirge. Bamadhaj’s interest in examining various intricacies and displays of power in Indonesian society has often used the language of architecture and public monuments; the ‘military spectacle operates as a forceful and hyper-masculine war cry’.