4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art presents the first iteration of an ongoing exhibition project by Adri Valery Wens and Shaun Gladwell, curated by Natalie King and Mikala Tai.

Monyet Gila: Episode One – The Episode with the Crazy Monkey investigates the role that narrative plays in contemporary culture. The artists consider their projects as separate works, installed in parallel to allow for moments of intersection as each excavates and reappraises epic narratives.

Indonesian, Sydney-based artist, Adri Valery Wens focuses on cultural stories of Hindu-Javanese origin, specifically the Wayang Orang (Human Puppet) performance based on two foundation epics – the Mahabharata (the story of the great Bharata Dynasty) and the Ramayana (the story of Rama’s Journey).

Wens delves into the complexity and tensions of his cultural background through a series of photographic depictions of himself ‘performing’ characters within these epic narratives. Staged in Jakarta, dressed in elaborate costumes and theatrical makeup, the images translate the philosophical, political, poetic, performance and re-performance content of the epic stories through the genre of self-portraiture.

Australian-born, London-based artist Shaun Gladwell’s video artwork explores the popular Japanese television drama Monkey, based on the Chinese novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en. Considered a cult classic, the program incorporated Taoist and Buddhist Philosophy, which had a great influence on Gladwell. The artist’s work looks to re-cast the role of Tripitaka – a young Buddhist Monk. The actress who originally played the monk, Masako Natsume, died in 1985 and Gladwell’s project acts as homage to Natsume’s portrayal of the character.

The collaboration of Gladwell and Wens illustrates how traditional epics and long loved narratives remain a determining factor in the creation of the contemporary self.

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