Ajim Juxta - Tugu | Ugut

Something struck a chord with me when I saw Ajim’s works during
his Ragamasa show, a recollection of works done during his residency
in London.
The main work, highlighted as the poster image, was a small piece
approximately 30cm x 30cm. A white jagged piece of composition in
the middle of vast blackness; made out of heavyweight stock paper,
the frayed edges of torn-off paper forming an illusion of a volumetric
object floating in space.
I had the chance of slipping Ajim a question on how that particular
piece come about. His answer related to a visit to the British Museum,
and being fascinated with the fragments of monuments on display;
a questioning of our past forming in his subconscious. Through
conversations, it dawned on me that Ajim’s art is a continuous narrative
of self, and a constant invitation for us to engage into his world. He offers
to share fragments of being, in hope that we connect and call our own;
in return for fragments of us.
The conversations transcribed below, unveils only a tip of Ajim’s
thoughts, drives and motivation, hopes and and non-hopes.
Sam: Before TUGU|UGUT was Ragamasa and Arkologi Gelap. Are
these exhibitions directly connected?
Ajim: For Ragamasa, the works on display was whatever I had
produced at the ACME open studio last year (2017) in November.
Arkologi Gelap soon followed as I further explored and expanded on
what I had done during my stay in the UK. In a way I took these shows as
slots for me to experiment, conceptually with sketches, drawings, black
paintings, even sizes, inevitably leading to TUGU|UGUT.
Sam: What does ‘Ragamasa’ mean?
Ajim: ‘Raga’ means ‘your being’, while ‘Ragam’ means ‘your doing’.
So you being, and you doing occurs over the same time (masa). It’s not
just about what you are inside or outside, but also how you are ‘being’
to utilize your time.
TUGU|UGUT, touches and critiques a lot on human development
and behaviours. It comes back to me, and how I choose to internalise,
perceive, interpret and project me back out.
Sam: I see your works are now becoming more dimensional physically,
does this relate back to your experience in London?
Ajim: Yes. When I started my ‘Tugu’ series, ‘Ugut’ did not exist. At
the British Museum, I was really impressed by the ancient civilisations
display. Witnessing people line up like crazy to take photos with the
Rosetta Stone. People can only see traces of past monuments, tombs et
cetera. All these monuments are reminders of built civilizations, so-called
development before it inevitably crumbles. We never seem to learn from
our mistakes, instead we just keep repeating the same mistakes.
I was also fascinated with the displays at the V&A Museum. The
use of scale and quantity of objects as curation tools. It made me ask,
how and why people collect all this stuff to try and tell the world of our
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