Irfan Hendrian
CLOSED
ara contemporary, Jakarta

Irfan Hendrian not only works on, from, or with paper, but delves into the medium itself, rigorously examining and exploiting its formal, sculptural, and architectural possibilities. The Bandung-based artist, printmaker, and graphic designer’s solo exhibition at Jakarta’s ara contemporary, “CLOSED,” unveiled new pieces from his Chinatown Window Sample series (2025), embodying the history, culture, and intergenerational trauma faced by the Tionghoa, a Chinese Indonesian ethnic minority in Indonesia. 

Drawing on what he calls an “architecture of fear,” Hendrian grapples with the legacy of violence and racial discrimination that has not only afflicted the Tionghoa, but is also embedded within domestic objects and buildings across the country. This psychological undercurrent was immediately palpable upon entering the main gallery. For Paranoia Holder (2025), Hendrian invited visitors to deboss their keys onto small paper cards and hang them on a wall-based structure made of wood and paper, which resembles the inside of a door lock mechanism. While consenting to participate means leaving behind a facet of one’s identity, the keys tell a deeper story, alluding to the Tionghoa community’s ingrained habit of securing every threshold of their shophouses—a routine forged in response to the anti-Chinese riots (1965–67) during Indonesia’s post-independence years.