The Art of Loving the Environment

Regina Rukmorini

· 5 minutes read

Through art, Sujono, 49, not only offers beauty. He also campaigns to preserve the environment. For Sujono, art has a strategic mission, especially as a vehicle for advocating love for the universe.

Sujono campaigns to conserve the environment by using waste and garbage. He makes puppets using thin pieces of tin from used water gutters and produces dance costumes using snack wraps. All other supporting accessories, such as wrist and ankle bracelets, are also produced from used items.

Not only plastic waste or packaging products, he also uses organic waste, such as leaves and dried fruit. Finally, starting in 2018, Sujono succeeded in making paintings using melted plastic waste.

Although seen as a useless item, plastic waste is considered the peak of his achievements as an artist.

"I feel proud because there have never been any other artists who have developed paintings made from plastic waste," said the resident of Krogowanan village, Sawangan district, Magelang regency, Central Java, last week.

All of Sujono\'s works that use unusual materials require finesse, effort and hard work. The effort begins with patience in waiting and searching for used items with the desired color and type of material.

When making paintings using plastic, for example, he had to do two jobs at once, namely melting the plastic and painting. This must be done because the "paint" must be used while still warm. Therefore, Sujono must be willing to paint next to a stove for him to melt the plastic. In order for the plastic scent not to affect his breath, he paints while wearing a mask. At first glance it looks like he is melting wax for batik making.

The painting produced by Sujono was, at first glance, like an acrylic painting. It\'s just that the painting comes with a rough texture on its surface.

Plastic painting

Since 2018 until now, Sujono has made 10 paintings from plastic waste. Four of them are still stored at his home and six of them have been exhibited in Vietnam and Magelang.

All works made from this garbage provoked a positive response from the many people who saw it. Plastic paintings always attract attention and make many visitors wonder and ask how to produce them. A set of puppets made from used gutters were acquired by an art collector in Vietnam.

The dance costume he made from used snack wrappers is also used by his dance group. So, don\'t be surprised when you later see packs of snacks and wafers of certain brands waving in the dance movements.

"If we cannot reduce waste, I just want to show that waste can still be used, recycled into something that is beautiful," he said. Through these works, Sujono wants to raise the awareness of his audience about how important it is to save the environment from plastic waste.

These works led Sujono to various discussion forums. He is often invited as a speaker for discussions or seminars at various universities, including in Malang, Bogor, Jakarta and Malaysia. In the forum, Sujono, who only graduated from junior high school, gave an explanation to the academics, students and lecturers.

His educational background often made Sujono lack confidence. He was even less convinced when the fellow speakers were bureaucrats or academics with high education.

Since childhood, Sujono loved to paint. Because he heard that at vocational school there would be many lessons about drawing techniques, after junior high school, he immediately decided to go to a vocational school in Magelang. He was shocked because what was taught was not what he had imagined.

Sujono felt uneasy. Entering the second grade of vocational high school, he intended not to continue school and he wanted to register to attend military education using his junior high school diploma. Sujono\'s efforts were opposed by his parents. In anger and disappointment, he decided to go to Semarang. After being homeless briefly, he worked in a factory and was accepted as a security guard.

Around 1992, he decided to focus on painting. However, because the price of paint and canvas was high and he had no money, Sujono decided to make a mask and draw parts of the face. At that time, making masks was not difficult because he could ask for wood for free from neighbors around his house.

During break, I took out the tools and carved the masks on the edge of the rice field.

Sujono continued to make masks. He never abandoned this art activity even though he still had to carry out another activity, namely farming.

"During break, I took out the tools and carved the masks on the edge of the rice field," he said.

He lived this episode of his life for about a year. After producing hundreds of mask, he wanted to sell them around the Borobudur Temple area. On foot, Sujono carried the masks in sacks.

It was his efforts to market the masks that finally led him to become acquainted with fellow artist Sutanto Mendut. Sujono then joined the Five Mountains Artists Community (KLG). Through this community he can develop relationships and develop the marketing of his works.

All the works he made have their own character and uniqueness. Wayang Kali and Wayang Samudra puppets, for example, are fish-

shaped puppets and the performances must be held at a river or by the sea. One of the dances he made was the Saujana mask dance, which tells about the behavior of insects with uniquely designed costumes.

Besides doing art, up to now Sujono also continues the same activity as his parents, namely farming. What he sees in nature that every day, later becomes his greatest inspiration in doing art.

Sujono

Born: Magelang, 11 November 1970

Education:

SMP Negeri 2 Sawangan

Wife: Tubiyati (41)

Children: Indra Gading (21), Ade Bondan Pratoto (11)

Editor:

kompascetak sujono