Bamboo art graces Jakarta traffic circle for Independence Day

The Jakarta administration has installed a landmark bamboo art installation at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle to celebrate Independence Day.

A bamboo sculpture titled Getah Getih has been installed at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle to celebrate Independence Day. (kompas.com/David Oliver Purba)

Joko Avianto, the sculptor, said it took 10 men, one week and 1,600 pieces of bamboo to install the 5.5-meter tall artwork named “Getah Getih”, in reference to the red-and-white flag of the 13th century ethnic Javanese Majapahit Kingdom, which became the country's national flag.
“I think Majapahit is the strongest symbol for Indonesia,” he said, alluding to the controversial idea of Java’s supremacy in Indonesia.

He added that the sculpture should last between six months to a year.
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan attended the inauguration of the sculpture on Thursday and said it represented the intertwining unity of Indonesia’s 262 million people. He added that the administration paid Rp 550 million (US$37,670) for the artwork.
Joko graduated from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in West Java, and has been experimenting with bamboo for 10 years. One of his artworks was installed at the entrance of the Frankfurter Kunstverein Museum in Frankfurt, Germany. (JakartaPost)