Life is about being able to laugh when everything is upside down
Dolanan was started as doodles, clay objects which I did on my spare times, during waiting hours, in between works, after work, at breakfast, before bed. So many in between.
I liked them simple, just round, like a ball, so I could play with these figurines, again and again, in different setting, with different gestures. Something I could put easily in the corner of my room.
In my imagination these talking heads were never stayed the same. They were constantly moving, constantly evolving, the earthy color blended with the interior yet the expression brightened up the whole atmosphere.
The terracotta object “Dolanan” which is in Javanese meaning to play, tells a story of innocent life of children, the early phase of human life in which honesty is apparent, happiness is real and fear is unseen.
These virtues are actually the essence of all humans, but as children grow up often wiped out or eventually sacrificed for the sake of being adults. Ironically within this adult years most people are constantly in search for happiness. They search everywhere to get that joyful life back, when the only thing they need to do is to look inside.
Dolanan is a cue to remember what is forgotten, to reminisce the simplest things of being fun, being spontaneous, and being happily stupid.