Path of Culmination is a Curation of Literary Works by Dr. Mas Ruscitadewi. Literary offerings in the Culmination. Calm In Nation Visual Art Exhibition by Sawidji in collaboration with Santrian Art Gallery, Bali. May-June 2024.
Culmination Visual Art Exhibition is fortunate to have the contributions of many writers imbue our gathering with their profound poetry, stories and reflections. Culmination invited artists to offer works with a message for the wider community, one that inspires peace, tolerance and a kind social consciousness. Our writers shared their stories in the same spirit. Everyone offering their highest 'peak' which in turn reveals their deepest message.
Cherished and reflected upon by all of us throughout Culmination. Through a film recording directed by Dibal Ranuh and the transcribing of these works into Balinese Aksara on Lontar leaves by Darma Putra and Ari Pebriyani.
Your First Step! Your Final Goal!
by Agung Putra
Think about it! This is the time
that harvests gold over silence.
When crisp hate burns diversity into broken chards of coal.
Move! in dance, in song, in poetry, in colours
To soothe and soften life and recover humanity.
It is not just a celebration of joy,
but a gathering of creative expressions surpassing the space-time dimension.
Freeing limits. Limiting freedoms.
Choosing seeds, sorting steps
Lay out the path. It's time to tick off space
Charming friend
against the burden, of boxed fences.
The party is finally here
Eternal kinship. The ultimate goal of our democracy
Right at the beginning of your steps.
Death of Reckoning. An American Storyteller Comes to Terms with his Balinese Father-in-law's Passing
Brandon Spars marks the 'peak" as his understanding of his own position as an American with his father-in-law as a Balinese, Indonesian. As reflected in the story excerpt entitled Death of Reckoning:
An American Storyteller Comes to Terms with his Balinese Father-in-law's Passing. A profound realisation, unexpected and brutally honest.
I Love You
IGA Darma Putra
I love you
I love you
I love you
I love you
Say it to everyone
Who you meet day and night
So that hatred is destroyed
Like ashes from your own body
blown by the wind
Into silence
Just because I love you
I didn't find it
The difference between the moon and the sun
Or the stars
Throughout the universe
With fireflies
Or even the look in your eyes
Look
I'm isolated
Into painful love
Picking up my body's poems
which has been dated
before his time
Listen
I really
Love you
Love you
Others offer the wise footprints left in life's labyrinth. The maze that snares us and traps us in ourselves as we resist what we face. Eda Ocak's Labyrinth represents the peak of awakening, of achievement when one accepts life without resistance.
Labyrinth
Eda Ocak
I'm in a labyrinth and there's no exit.
But I don't know that there is no exit,
I say to myself each time
If I turn this corner
I'll see the exit door.
Sometimes while walking,
I can be mesmerised by the beauty of the scenery
And forget my destination.
the people and animals I meet on the road,
I get dizzy with what's happening and what's not happening.
Do I turn right or do I turn left?
Or I don't know if I would have gone straight,
I forget.
Some days I'm determined.
I remember.
There was an exit door somewhere,
I mean, it's got to be somehow
That I walked to find him,
I remember travelling all this way to find that exit.
My mind is a clear sky.
I even get excited, thinking I'm getting closer to the exit,
But some days
I get tired
Is there no way out?
I've been walking all this way for nothing,
I've been asking around,
Excuse me, where's the exit?
They look at me like I've lost my mind.
And someone says, "I think he's a lunatic...
I panic.
I'm gasping for breath.
I'm punching the walls.
Where is the exit, where is it?
Even the possibility that there is no exit is terrifying.
When I realise I keep passing the same places again and again…
If there's no way out, I say.
What if we're always here
What if there's nowhere else to go to?
And that's when I notice that under my breastbone
Something strong echoes through the soles of my feet
“No resistance, we're here.”
We're always here.
No way out.
Don’t resist!
That's the whole secret.
All fears, all sorrows, all joys
To all the mornings and nights of the world
And so we're going into this labyrinth
When there is no resistance,
There is an exit.
There's an exit you can get out of without getting out.
If there's no resistor, there's an exit.
Just remember;
Each time you get lost,
Because you resist your experience.
You want to run away,
You want to change your reality
When it’s not the way you want.
You punch the walls just in case
You might crack them so
You can run.
But when no resistance
When you say this too
Acceptance,
Then the labirent itself
Disappears
And this is time it turns into joy
Joy of being alive now and here.
There is nowhere to escape
Surrender to the labirent
I mean the samsara
Where it can transform itself
Into nirvana
When there is no resistance…
Indoor Gardening
Adnyana Ole
I planted a fire tree in the cold
You pick it and it tastes salty
From the fruit that appears
just like that on the edge of the forehead
"I'm harvesting!" you said.
I also kissed your forehead
Taste salty
which will soon be gone
Stay away from old age
You planted a fire tree in the air
I bit it and then it tasted sour
From hanging fruit
So much so on the tip of the tongue
"I can!" I said
You also bit my tongue
As if stopping the words
which used to always be loose
falling like rain
on a chair in the living room
I plant water trees in the heat
You pick it and it tastes sour
From hundreds of pieces gathered
As usual at your fingertips
“I have a great harvest!” you said
I also sucked your fingers
Let me enjoy the sour essence of life
before it dissolves
in sweet promises
in the cauldron's niche
You plant water trees in the air
I inhaled then tasted bland
Of flowing fruit
So it is with the breath flow
“I am abundant!” I said
You also inhale my breath
Gives appearance to blandness
I look like you
children's appearance
on the dining table
I planted air trees in the heat
You then get a spicy taste
From imagined fruit
So real in the eyes
“I got cash!” you said
I also washed your eyes
So that you can see perfectly
how commonplace everything is
what luxury everything is lacking
on the front porch
You plant trees in the cold
I gasped at the bitter taste
From the seeds of the fruit that glides rapidly
That's how fast the blood flows in the veins
“I thank you!” I said
You also rubbed my veins
Treating bitterness as a healer
wound on the leg
pain in the heart
pain all over the house
Me, You and Us
Dr. Mas Ruscitadewi
My name is Dust, something small,
very small, lonely alone.
No matter how small and insignificant I am,
like other humans,
I still hope to be a useful being.
Yes, as a sentient being,
My smallness seems meaningless.
However, just like you,
my life is also one.
Actually you know that,
but you are dumb and mute.
Pretending not to know,
and don't want to know
let me be the dust of a nuisance,
sparkling gem light
Clear flowing water,
pure clean air
Just fire, teaching
Always giving
Changing me day by day
Trees stand firm on essence
The beasts ran wild
Man stands tall but is afraid of death
Be careful
Too ambitious to be heartless
Humans think
Change destiny
Rule the universe
Dominates all
Disrespect everything
Man said
Spread charm
Hiding
Painful to the ears
Hurts the soul
Humans do
Always step on
The small one is on the nipple
The weak chewed and spat out
Creating castes
Differentiate colors
Worship the throne of Artha
You forget, all perish
Finally, the land lovingly embraced
The place of the fall maketh your home
You and I are the same
We are one air Universe
Brothers
My name is Dust
of uncertain flight
Water and wind brought me to you
Fire burned my body
May its flame illuminate you
Transcendence
Ngurah Arya Dimas Hendratno
Morning tears are surrounding the fields
Green and cold, embracing the sky
Keep the mountain green
And hold the sea freeze on blue velvet
Melted from the flossy river,
On the parlour of tranquility
All question coming fulfil my mind
From the author of live
Grown from the deep lounge dessert
Preserve all human on their examination
Path of the ceiling clumps
Creating crumbs of faith meaning
None of clans star birth in the cave
Hide from the crowd
I entered cloudy minds interception
owning the major of consciousness
Within the darkness side of human though
Sorrow with an enhance perception
Whose conquer the time
Fragrance of universe in capturing beyond live
Paradox of God along creating, rebirthing and vanishing
Mindfulness of living transcendently
Agni…-Fire….
O Fire, O sun….your gentle warmth wakes up the lotus…
but then your relentless warmth burns my skin….
and brings forth, sweat, water…
the moon….its waxing waning…..makes the sea dance…
now high….now low…
You can reduce anything to ash…make it non-existent…
such is your power…
.and you can even reduce me to nothing…
and make me return to this earth..?
when you are not there…
.everything is hidden …
you illuminate everything…
maybe you are his very eyes..
watching me all the time….?
Bhumi….-Earth
O Earth ….wondrous earth, vast and infinite
your earthy fragrance quickens the senses…
the little seed you nurse in your womb
feeds all…
Tall trees filled with flowers…..oh! their sweet scents…
On one, soft sands where the camel treads
On the other, rocky earth, the elephant walks…
Mountains, deep valleys and deep down what do you hide?
Gold!…shining alluring…
O earth you who art the giver of plenty, the ever nurturing,
Infinite is your extent and expanse
Is He then thus so…infinite?
Is his very chest, of your form
the chest that I can lay my head on
and finally merge into??.
You who are firm , steady , unyielding….so too must he be??
Jala- Water…
O water, gentle, ever flowing, .as time..
You descend from the mountains as falls,
become the river and merge with the ocean…
You cleanse everything that touches you.
When the earth is parched, you descend as rains and preserve it…..
cheering the peacocks…
Are his tresses like your’s …. Flowing?
you here and you here….
you are the same!..
is it so with me and with him?....
Do we become one?
Vayu…-Air,
O air, O wind , ….
butterflies who swing in your arms…
birds whom you take here and there …
you drive the clouds to send us rain….
Prana…
you are the source of life for me,
You are within me….without me….
Is he the one then within me as prana…
Are we already one then ….?
If I shed this form…then maybe I too can fly...??
Spring Has Come
Shio Senda
The spring has come
The winter has gone without rainfalls
The earth was left with color of dead and heat
One day
We saw white, yellow and pink dots in the huge landscape
The burst of wild flowers
My cells got burst for the joy
The water is in the air, in the ground, and in ourselves
The life keeps dancing everywhere
The spring has come
Finished
Sonia Piscayanti
Finished
We've already had tears
Crying over what is not necessary
Unnecessary injuries
Unnecessary sorrow
Unnecessary coals
Maybe we are just born as statues
Have a voice but don't need it either
Have a body but also don't need it
Have a taste but also not necessary
We used to have feelings of shame
Which now seems unnecessary
This nation seems to be passing by in unnecessary things
This poem is unnecessary
There's no need to worry about this
The country doesn't need people who know shame
Because he himself is not ashamed
Because there's no need
Unfortunately we once lived with pride
Call yourself human
Now everything is almost in vain
There is only one taste, no need
No need for anything
We're not going anywhere anyway
Not going anywhere
Because everything is there
It's been planned in our name
But we're not there
Because we don't need to be there
So where are we
In a leaf, or in a root, or in a lake,
or in a vacuum
We are there but not there
We haven't gone anywhere yet
Finally finished, slowly
In a room of our own minds
Which will always be a statue for this nation
To those who have passed
We don't believe in shame
Marine Obituary
Wini Arthini
I read the whispers of the wind
Guess fallen leaves rotting on the wet ground
And dusk offers its colours
Creates a fading shadow
There is a heavy sadness in the beach sand
Like my sorrow
Pain swept away by the waves
Moaning the steps of the rain
Take my steps
In deep wounds
Drowning in tears
What can't be endured
I'll wait for you at the place we agreed on
A place where we are greeted by clouds of dreams
You come bringing light
Never stop talking about life and living
Take away my sorrow
Hope awaits us to be awakened
Lighting the embers of a fire that is almost extinguished
Thus we become one heartbeat
Explore the tunnel of light together
There's no time to be sad
Nothing can change
Everything seems clear
A Special Thank You
Ida Bagus Gede Sidharta Putra for the opportunity to collaborate with Santrian Art Gallery and Popo Danes for his wonderful encouragement and opening Culmination. Dian Dewi Reich for the program and curation.
To all our writers and artists for their contributions in Culmination Calm In Nation Art Exhibition.
Agung Putra, Brandon Spars, Darma Putra, Eda Ocak, Eric Buvelot, Made Adnyana Ole, Mas Ruscitadewi, Nandhini Krisna, Ngurah Arya Dimas Hendratno, Shio Senda, Sonia Piscayanti, Wini Arthini
Agus Kama Loedin, David Hopkins, Dibal Ranuh, Made Kaek, ManButur Suantara, Putu Bonuz Sudiana, Sujana Suklu, Tjandra Hutama, Wayan Suastama
To Dibal Ranuh and Kitapoleng for their generous collaboration in filming our artists' poetry recital and the production of Culmination of Words.
Special thank you Dian Iswari, Jasmine Okubo and Kang Hajat for our opening performances.