Maharani Mancanagara's interactive installation presents three telephone booths in a dimly lit room, where everything that feels impossible can happen. In the booth, a chair and a landline telephones from the past become silent witnesses to the 'conversation' between generations: survivors of the 1965 incident and those of us who live in the present. Between departure and transit. Through this device, voices from the past flow into stories of arrests, interrogations, forced labor, fears, hopes, wounds and stigmas that never end. Maharani refers to and re-voices the diary of her grandfather, R. Soegriwo Joedodiwirdjo (1910-1987) whom she has never met in her entire life. This teacher was detained without trial in Koblen prison (1966-1971), Nusakambangan (1971-1975) and ended up on Buru Island (1975-1978) on charges of involvement in Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI). The development of the communist party in Indonesia during the Cold War era was part of a complex geopolitical problem. Relying on the biographical narrative from her grandfather's diary, Maharani borrowed the narrative method in oral history to reveal the dark sides of history.
She was inspired by the presence of Suspas telephone kiosks, a telecommunications booth that is now provided in several prisons and detention centers. The limited service of a few minutes is intended for prisoners to communicate with their families. For visitors, to be in this telephone booth is to experience the subject's awareness as a 'prisoner' in the thick clouds of history. In the exhibition space, a series of blackboard objects with quotes from her grandfather's handwriting are presented. These references and actions become significant personal markers for Maharani, through which historical texts can be reinterpreted. This work encourages visitors to re-imagine the motifs of intersection between private life, freedom and taboo/prohibition.

Artistic & Script Director : Maharani Mancanagara
Audio Direction : Jalan Teater
Script Translation : Jalan Teater
Talent : Mirkoen Awaly, Siska Aprisia
Sound Composer : Rama Saputra
Audio Technician : Maulana Ahmad
Book Design & Production : Irfan Hendrian-Werkbound Studio.

This project was made possible with the support of Congo Solid Wood.