Valentine Willie Fine Art is delighted to present Bambang Toko’s first solo exhibition in Kuala Lumpur entitled, ‘Titian Muhibah: Serumpun, Senada, Seirama’. The title of the show is taken from ‘Titian Muhibah’, a joint programme between TVRI and RTM in the Eighties.

In this new series of work, Bambang delves back into our recent history to look at a subject that has fascinated him as an artist, the Malay-Indonesian Retro Rock. As a collector of vintage pop memorabilia Bambang’s interest extends to explore the ethos and spirit that bind the past generation of musicians between Malaysia and Indonesia – a historical connection that is rarely explored.

Bambang will present paintings, drawings and object installations of retro-rock memorabilia sourced from Indonesian and Malaysian flea markets, second-hand shops and private collections.

The post-Confrontation era of cultural exchange between these two countries reveal a strong aesthetic bond that bridges the nation-state divide, the by product of nationalism and colonialism. Malaysian and Indonesian retro-rock music became a means to forge a common ground between these two countries. In ‘Titian Muhibah’, Bambang nostalgically mines this particular episode of cultural exchange to highlight an artistic strategy that is both poignant and kitschy, affirming our shared cultural roots as it extends on more recent contemporary art exchanges that have continued to push the envelop and promote artistic dialogue between Malaysia and Indonesia.

Bambang ‘Toko’ Witjaksono (b. 1973, Yogyakarta) is renowned as one of the most prominent artist of his generation, i.e. Indonesian artists emerging in the late ‘90s and Post-Reformation. He was one of the founders of the legendary art group Apotik Komik and now is active as a teacher of graphic arts at ISI (Institut Seni Indonesia), and an initiator of many projects for young artists. He is well known for his signature style that blends iconographies of ‘Urban Kampung Street Art’, Indonesian vintage pulp illustrations and comics, cheesy ‘80s pop culture and small narratives filled with ironic street style humour with strong local context.