Suai Media Space

English Language

Categoria nee nuudar fatin ida bodik arte maka ami fotografar iha fatin publica no ba forma arquitetura sira maka tulun ami hatene diak liu tan teni.

Arte matriz (seni stensilan) ho pisasaun (grafiti) nee hanesan forma-forma arte maka ema nurak sira iha raiklaran tomak hafolin (valorisar) tebes. Yuventu sira maka dala barak la bele hetan dalan ou fatin bodik halo ema seluk rona sira nia lian hasai sia lian tuir arte matriz no pisasaun.

[Nota: Clicar ba foto ida bodik halo mosu sai ‘gallery’, hotu tiha dada ba gallery nee usa butan ‘Next’ no ‘Back’ besik letin ba sorin karuk no kwana].

Letratu Melancolia nee hau hasai hosi mura ida iha dalan kiik ida iha Suai ba tinan 2000. Literatu nee maka halo hau hasoru ho Sergio da Costa. Letratu nee maka halo hau no Sergio da belun diak too agora. Letratu nee refletir sa maka lawarik feto nurak (foin sai) sira hosi Suai tebe-tebes horan durante tinan nee laran. Nia refletir sa maka iha lawarik feto nurak sira laran tinan nee.

Hau horan katak ekspresaun artistica informa nee maka dinamicamente dadi foun no differente emosionante(halo hau kontente). Tan sa ida? Primeiru, tan sira nee ephemera (la kaleur). Segunda, tan paisaun (keinginan kuat/horan makaas) maka ema nurak ida ba iha dalan atu hatudu nia aan arsticomente la hanoin atu hetan osan. Dala barak obra de arte (karya kesenian) nee refletir resistancia ou sa maka subar aan iha vizinhansa (uma kain seluk),ou dala barak obra de arte nee hanesan expresaun hosi espiritu artisticu ou hanesan marka ida kona ba identidade. Obra de arte hanesan nee dala wain katak sai ba ita simbolicamente ita nia moris, ita nia experiensia duuk.

Iha arte publica Suai nian hau hasoru liberdade maka dala barak la malorek iha obra ba tela our papel. Hau hanoin ita bele dehan katak hanesan ba Port Phillip. Hare video ‘Art of Healing’ (Dur: 7 minutes).

Domi & nia Belun iha Sergio nian arte Mura 2000 & Sergio nia Uma 2000

Iha Suai artista sira pinta la hos deit ba mura iha fatin publica maibe mos ba mura hosi sira nian uma hela fatik duuk. Nee sa ida maka unica tebe-tebes iha Suai. Lawarik mane oan ida maka lori hau dala isin primeru ba iha Sergio nia uma hela fatin in fulan Julho 2000. Hau hakfodak no haksolok ba oras hare mura oin luan nian hakonu ho pinta tipo Disney nian hamutu ho pintura feto nurak ida maka sexy tebes. Hau hasoru lawarik mane kiik nee ba tempo hau fotografar orbe de arte ida maka ikus fali hau hatene katak Sergio maka pinta. Lawarik mane kiik oan nee nia naran Domi. Hau hanoin nia nee Domi maka pinta iha aula arte iha Suai hodi material sira mai hosi Port Phillip.

Iha Sergio nian toba batin/studio, mura sira hafutar (decoradar) hotu hodi Sergio nia pintura. Hau hanoin nee la dun hakfodak quandu ema considera katak material sira nee folin caru no difisil atu hetan iha Suai. Maibe pintura sira nee refletir valor hosi artista nia familia. Tan sa ida permitir ita nia oan sira decorar (hafutar) ita nia uma hodi sira nia arte? Funsaun importante seluk ida hosi ‘arte ba uma’ maka nee: ema estrangeiru sira hakara mai visita uma sira nee maka uma hosi artista sira. Visita hosi ema estrangeiru sira nee bele crea posibilidade kona ba ajuda hosi, kona ba vendas ou encomandas hosi ema estrangeiru sira.

I video-taped this graffiti in July 2000 which was 11 months after the massacres that forced the whole population of Suai to flee to the hills in September 1999. I will post a video asap.

[Note: Click on a photo to get the ‘gallery’ to pop up then scroll through the gallery using the ‘Next’ and ‘Back’ buttons near the top on the sides.]

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This graffiti is all written in Indonesian – whereas now (2008) it is mostly in Tetun or Portuguese reflecting the real changes in the language being used daily and to whom the graffiti artists are addressing their comments.

The graffiti in Suai in June this year conveys a strong sense of protest about the imposing of Portuguese as the official language by the new Timorese Government since Independence. All of this graffiti has been written here since 2006 when the country under-went a huge political crisis.

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It’s notable also that the direct messages to Australia have changed dramatically since the early graffiti I photographed in 2000 when the mood was one of gratitude and other images and messages were euphoric addressed to militia and Indonesian leaders with people named or drawn on to the walls.

Tetun version
Most of the wall art is clustered on the walls around the market where the energy in the town is most concentrated every day of the week, and especially on Saturdays. Much of the work in this gallery is by Almeida. It is not difficult to see some of his influences and obsessions in this work. There is apparently another interesting artist somewhere by the name of Melita – where are you Melita?

[Note: Click on one of these photographs: they are in a ‘gallery’ that pops up so you can scroll through them using the ‘Next’ and ‘Back’ buttons on the right hand & left hand sides near the top.]

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All of this graffiti and wall art has been written or painted in these spaces since I was in Suai in February 2006 and it reflects the political crisis the country went through in 2006 and 2007. Alfredo Reinaldo was the leader of a rebel group who was accused of being the cause of the trouble but was seen as a hero of the ‘small people’ by many who felt frustrated by the political leadership.

[Show as slideshow]

Tetun Language

Stencil Art and Graffiti are art-forms highly valued by young people the world over. Youth who often cannot find any other places to have their voices heard express themselves through stencil art and graffiti.

[Note: Click on a photo to get the ‘gallery’ to pop up then scroll through the gallery using the ‘Next’ and ‘Back’ buttons near the top on the sides.]

This Portrait of Melancholy on the wall of a lane way in Suai in 2000 led me to Sergio da Costa and the beginning of a friendship that continues today. This portrait conveys more about the feelings of the young women of Suai at this time than anything else I’ve seen.

I find these informal artistic expressions that change dynamically over time exciting – because they are ephemeral, but also because of the passion that takes a young person into the street to express themselves without thought of financial reward. Sometimes these works reflect resistance or aspects of the underbelly of our neighbourhoods, sometimes it is just an expression of artistic spirit on display or a mark representing an identity in the form of a tag. Which ever it is it makes our lives more interesting.

In the public art in Suai I have found a freedom that is often not evident in work on canvas or paper and I guess you could say the same for Pt Phillip. See video the ‘Art of Healing’(Dur:7 mins) .

Domi & Friend in front of Sergio’s Wall art 2000 & Sergio’s House 2000

Something that is different in Suai, is the habit of artists to not only paint on walls in public places but to paint on the walls of their own homes. I was first was taken by a small boy to Sergio’s home in July 2000, I was surprised to see the outside wall painted with Disney characters alongside a provocative portrait of a woman. I met the little boy when I was photographing art that I later discovered was painted by Sergio. That little boy’s name was Domi and I reckon that is the same Domi who has been painting in the art class in Suai with Pt Phillips art materials.

In Sergio’s bedroom/studio, the walls were covered with his paintings. I guess this is not so surprising when one considers that materials can be expensive and hard to come by – but it also points to the values of the artists’ families. Why not allow our children to decorate our homes with their art? Another important function for this kind of ‘art on the house’ is that strangers are drawn to these homes that are obviously the homes of artists and this frequently leads to assistance, sales, or work in the form of commissions.

Almeida’s House and the painted door.

Sometimes in Suai the graffiti is directed to Australians working there and it gives us insights into our relationship with the young people of Suai where the right to freedom of expression is new and often hard to find.

For insights into freedom of expression under the Indonesian regime see the interview with the lead singer of Galaxy the top Timorese band in the video Hangover. Two of the artists featured in our Art category are prolific art in public places artists too: Sergio da Costa and Almeida.

Which ever way we look at it is part of a public conversation, and you will find more in Graffiti.

The Art of Healing was screened at a fundraiser for Arte Moris & Bibi Bulak in St Kilda’s Theatreworks in mid 2006 so they could continue to work with people despite the fact they were in refugee camps.

Cut to the music of Bibi Bulak (Silly Goat) Theatre Co. The Art of Healing is an upbeat ride through the self expression of some Timorese youth from art on their bedroom walls to street art and graffiti, this little video paints a very different picture of Timorese youth to that shown in Australian mainstream media.