Sinta Tantra’s sculptures find a historic home at Pitzhanger Manor, UK
Sinta Tantra’s ‘The Light Club of Batavia’ exhibition at Pitzhanger Manor unites her large and small-scale works and explores the duality of beauty and colonialism
![Sinta Tantra artwork (left) and interior of Pitzhanger Manor (right) where the exhibition ‘The Light Club of Batavia’ is on show](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/s9cCTDb42FXHzte3q4YisW-415-80.jpg)
Sinta Tantra’s geometric paintings, drawings and sculptures are the subject of the latest exhibition, ‘The Light Club of Batavia’, at Sir John Soane’s country retreat, Pitzhanger Manor in Ealing, where the artist has installed her large- and small-scale works throughout the historic house.
Taking inspiration from a 1912 novel, the British artist of Balinese descent has combined existing work with newly commissioned pieces that play into Soane’s signature use of light in his architecture. 'His use of glazed windows and framed arches sculpt the light so beautifully, especially here at Pitzhanger, a space where light is both celebrated and enjoyed,' Tantra explains.
Using Prussian blue, gold and brass, Tantra has exploited the play of light in the manor, her botanical abstractions creating a beautiful ambience in dialogue with the drama of the space. The title of the exhibition is taken from a novel by Paul Scheerbart, Batavia being the colonial name for the Indonesian capital Jakarta, during Dutch Rule.
Sinta Tantra, 'The Light Club of Batavia'
'In my practice, being Balinese and an Indonesian, I'm interested in exploring history through a post-colonial lens. Looking at the darker side of what may initially be seen as beautiful and captivating,' she says. 'Central to this exhibition, the gold leaf symbolises universal beauty, beauty throughout the ages – a celebration of light, colour, and positive energy. And yet, it is also linked to power, vanity, and extraction – a cost to both human lives and the ecology of the earth, humans plundering this limited resource.'
‘Sinta Tantra: The Lightclub of Batavia’ is curently on view at Pitzhanger Manor, alongside British artist Alice Irwin’s show ‘Chinwag’.
Pitzhanger Manor
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Amah-Rose Abrams is a British writer, editor and broadcaster covering arts and culture based in London. In her decade plus career she has covered and broken arts stories all over the world and has interviewed artists including Marina Abramovic, Nan Goldin, Ai Weiwei, Lubaina Himid and Herzog & de Meuron. She has also worked in content strategy and production.
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
‘Mental health, motherhood and class’: Hannah Perry’s dynamic installation at Baltic
Hannah Perry's exhibition ’Manual Labour’ is on show at Baltic in Gateshead, UK, a five-part installation drawing parallels between motherhood and factory work
By Emily Steer Published
-
Francis Alÿs plots child play around the world at the Barbican
In Francis Alÿs' exhibition ‘Ricochets’ at London’s Barbican, the artist explores the universality of play, even in challenging situations
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
At Glastonbury’s Shangri-La, activism and innovation meet
Glastonbury’s south-east corner is known for its after-dark entertainment but by day, there is a different story to tell
By Rhian Daly Published
-
Suzannah Pettigrew's 'tender and ghostly' new show at Surrealist photographer Lee Miller's former home in East Sussex
London-based artist Suzannah Pettigrew's photographic stills create a snapshot of her Sussex coast childhood, conjuring up a hallucinatory world of memory
By Mary Cleary Published
-
The Roth Bar at Hauser & Wirth Somerset serves up a cocktail of salvaged materials
Art and entertaining meet in Oddur Roth’s bar sculpture at Hauser & Wirth Somerset, a site-specific installation and social hub
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Studio Lenca nods to Salvadorian heritage with riot of colour in Margate
Studio Lenca considers boundaries in ‘Leave to Remain’ at Carl Freedman Gallery in Margate
By Emily Steer Published
-
Meet the Turner Prize 2024 shortlisted artists
The Turner Prize 2024 shortlisted artists are Pio Abad, Claudette Johnson, Jasleen Kaur and Delaine Le Bas
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Dorothy Hepworth and Patricia Preece: Bloomsbury’s untold story
‘Dorothy Hepworth and Patricia Preece: An Untold Story’ is a new exhibition at Charleston in Lewes, UK, that charts the duo's creative legacy
By Katie Tobin Published