Samsul Arifin

Samsul Arifin’s paintings, objects, installations, and performances revolve around the traditional Goni doll he fashions as his alter-ego—a symbol of purity and simplicity that he manipulates to consider secondary education in Indonesia. The character has been a part of his practice since 2008 and is a product of the sewing skills developed at his family’s sewing business. Pencils and crayons often appear as the Goni’s only survival tools. Education is the essence of self—Arifin regularly attaches IQ, EQ, and SQ, abbreviations used to reference children’s intellectual development, to the utensils in his tableaus. He encourages the viewer to support the early evolution of the artistic impulse, which has the ability to enhance one’s intellect while facilitating access to an international conversation.

Arifin has exhibited widely in Indonesia at Semarang Gallery, Tengah, Indonesia, Ark Gallery, Jakarta, and Galeri Nasional, Jakarta. He also participated in the 2011 SCOPE Basel in the Indonesia Pavilion, Art Stage Singapore in 2010 and 2012, and the Shanghai Art Fair in 2007.