me, myself...and you

“The ‘I’”, writes Barry Sandywell, “is not a noun but a verb: indexing interpretive processes shaped by exchanges with other interpretive agents." (See Bary Sandywell, Reflexivity and the Crisis of Western Reason, Logological Investigations, Volume I (London: Routledge, 1996), 261.)

A mirror has no view...

The Cartesian self is locked-up in reflection. Often the mirror is used as a metaphor for reflection. However, that is a misleading metaphor; I cannot be my own mirror. I guess, we are all up to a certain degree narcissists, however, it should be a narcissism that is open to the otherness of the other so it does not slide into solipsism.

Bandung from the 27th floor

Palestina in Indonesia

This text says: "Palestina is waiting for MUI!" The Indonesian Muslim Scholars Council (‘Majelis Ulama Indonesia – MUI’) is founded in 1975 by Soeharto, but it is not clear what the legal status is of the organization or its decrees, as Bowen asks: “Does an MUI decree have the force of law […], or is it only advisory to the government, and to Muslim citizens […]?” See John R. Bowen, Islam, Law and Equality in Indonesia, An Anthropology of Public Reasoning (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), 235. It is also not clear what MUI could mean for the people living in the Gaza strip and I cannot imagine that these people are indeed waiting for MUI. But perhaps the text does not read "Palestina menanti MUI," but "Palestina menantimu!", which means: "Palestina waits for you!"

Peter Bialobrzeski

This is a photo by German photograpger Peter Bialobrzeski from his Neon Tigers series.

Window Display

The young and talented artist Wiyoga Muhardanto has his first solo exhibition Window Display at Selasar Senaryo Art Space in Bandung. The above work is titled "Tin Lux." This artist is very critical of our consumer society. A criticism he expresses with lucidity and skill. He shares this criticism with the young philosopher Haryanto Soedjatmiko, who published the book I shop, therefore I exist.