September 21 – December 1
Timur Merah Project XII: Light Speed and Revelation (2024) is a commissioned installation composed of reticulated python snakeskin, neon lamps, and paintings on traditional Kamasan canvas. It addresses the encounter and coexistence of Balinese mythology and spirituality along with Western ideas of technological advancement. For the artist, myths, as a reflection of reality, still guide humans to the true light of knowledge and have the same social relevance as the instruments used by modern science. The piece is part of Timur Merah (2019–ongoing), translated as “The East is red” in English, a long-term project that seeks to trace and reinterpret the historical narratives of Indonesia and Bali.
Citra Sasmita’s work is informed by her involvement in theatre and her family’s cultural background, which includes performing artists who move from village to village in Indonesia enacting Hindu ritual ceremonies. Since the beginning of her career, Citra has been interested in revisiting traditional Asian languages—such as Kamasan-style painting developed in the fifteenth century, the first paintings in Bali—to reframe traditional stories and critique the vivid legacies of patriarchy and colonialism.
Commissioned by the Toronto Biennial of Art and made possible with the generous support of the Women Leading Initiative.
Bio
Citra Sasmita (b.1990, Indonesia; she/her) is concerned with unravelling the myths and misconceptions of Balinese art and culture. She is also deeply invested in questioning a woman’s place in the social hierarchy and seeks to upend normative constructs of gender. Due to her interests and research around these themes of identity and agency, the artist’s oeuvre is often peppered with provocative themes that challenge the status quo, whether in its aesthetics or the messages that it conveys. Taking traditional elements, myths and iconography from ancient Balinese culture and literature, Sasmita departs from convention and traces the marginalized narrative of women in Balinese society. In her works, she endows her female figures with powerful agency, which reimagines the depiction of Balinese women against the backdrop of a patriarchal Indonesian society. For Sasmita, foregrounding women who are aware of their agency means getting close to the image of the free-thinking human, Descartes’ “I think, therefore I am.” She rejects the ubiquitous portrayal of Balinese women as passive decorative elements that exist primarily for the gratification of the tourist and male gaze; incorporating mythical references and transforming classical narratives of war and romance to symbolize female resistance instead. Her practice reflects the complexity between the Anthropocene, post-human, and feminism while simultaneously repositioning women within the historical canon – an action that is necessarily urgent in her Balinese environment. Sasmita has been exhibited internationally at various institutions and biennales, including the 35th Sao Paulo Biennale 2023, Brazil; Kathmandu Triennale 2021-2022, Nepal; Jogja National Museum, Yogyakarta; ParaSite Hong Kong; MACAN Museum, Jakarta. Her most recent solo exhibition, ‘Ode to the Sun’ was held at Yeo Workshop, Singapore in 2020. In the same year, Sasmita was commissioned by UOB Museum MACAN Jakarta to create ‘Tales of Nowhere’ for the Children Art Space; following her recognition as the Gold Winner UOB Painting of The Year in 2017.
Location
- Accessibility
Collision Gallery
Accessible Entrance
Wheelchair Accessible
Washrooms available on Concourse Level in PATH Network
Building is AODA-compliant
Parking: If you require parking, Commerce Court has parking available just off of Wellington Street with the entrance being west of Yonge Street.
- Getting There
Collision Gallery
By subway: Exit at King Station which is directly connected to Commerce Court.
By streetcar: Take the 504 King Street streetcar and get off at the Bay St stop, on the north side of the building. Walk south on Bay St and turn left onto Wellington St W, with the building on your left.
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