Quietly Planted
Selasar Sunaryo Art Space is one of those names that felt significant long before I knew anything about the art world. There was a kind of shared belief among young artists that if your work had ever been shown there, it meant your work was worth something. Not because anyone wrote that rule down anywhere, but because the venue had built its reputation on being genuinely selective. I grew up with that perception, and I never really questioned it.
So when, in May 2025, SSAS announced it would open a national and international open call for the very first time, alongside the inauguration of Bale Paragon and an opening exhibition titled Senang Bersamamu, my first reaction was not calculation. It was something closer to a delightful panic. My career at that point was still very young, barely a few steps out of the door. But the opportunity was there, and I submitted.
Over a thousand works were submitted. I was selected as one of 241 participants. I am genuinely grateful.
The two works I showed were from Codex Sepia, a project I had never officially announced at the time. Deliberately. From the beginning, I already had a particular strategy for this project, something I called “planting a flag.” I did not explain what Codex Sepia was. I simply placed the work in front of people and watched what happened.
Some pieces I posted on social media without much context. Some I showed in informal conversations with colleagues, collectors, or curators, all without lengthy explanation. I also referred to it as “geli-gelian” (a kind of playful poking), a slow teaser I was quietly releasing into the world, just to see how people responded to a visual language different from what I usually presented. Working this way gave me room to test ideas, observe early reactions, and develop the concept without the pressure of having to get everything right immediately.
Senang Bersamamu was one of the most fitting and enjoyable spaces to do exactly that. Strategic, but it also just felt good.
The full release of Codex Sepia is planned for 2026. And I cannot wait. See you next year.