Mapping Local Idiom in The Region of Central Java, East Java as A Potential for New Aesthetic Innovation in Indonesian Contemporary Art

Abstract

This study investigates the role of local idioms from Central Java and East Java as a source of aesthetic innovation in Indonesian contemporary visual art. Local idioms are understood as visual, symbolic, material, and conceptual elements derived from regional traditions, rituals, vernacular languages, mythology, cosmology, and everyday cultural practices. The research aims to map the presence of these idioms and examine their modes of transformation within contemporary artistic contexts. Using a descriptive qualitative approach with an instrumental case study design, the study analyzes approximately 395 artworks from three exhibitions: ARTSUBS 2024 Ways of Dreaming, ARTSUBS 2025 Material Ways, and the undergraduate final exhibition Final Countdown. Data were collected through visual analysis, exhibition catalogues, curatorial texts, and contextual interpretation. The findings indicate that approximately ±19% of the analyzed artworks explicitly integrate local idioms, with the highest proportion found in the Final Countdown exhibition, reflecting strong engagement among younger artists. Local idioms are not presented as literal representations of tradition but are transformed through recontextualization, material experimentation, visual fragmentation, and contemporary conceptual articulation. Traditional materials such as batik, textiles, and clay function as conceptual media, while ritual and mythological references operate as symbolic visual structures. This study concludes that aesthetic innovation in Indonesian contemporary art emerges from the strategic transformation of local idioms, highlighting the significance of regional cultural resources in shaping contemporary visual expression.