Paper Art Exhibition by Bentara Budaya Yogyakarta

Bentara Budaya Yogyakarta is back with an exhibition that aims to highlight and reintroduce the history and role of paper in human civilization.

The Paper Art Exhibition displays the diversity of paper in its form and function, and it also highlights the use of paper in various fields of art.

Paper was first made in China and then spread to Japan and Egypt, the latter which produced paper out of the papyrus plant from which the word 'paper' is derived. The Indonesian archipelago also has a unique paper-making tradition, namely daluang which comes from the local name for paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera).

Much of the unique type of paper used to come from Ponorogo Regency, East Java province, and was thus known as Ponorogo paper. It is also known as gedog paper because beating paper mulberry bark is part of the process to make it.

Early historical use of gedog paper in the archipelago has not been confirmed, but it is suspected that it replaced lontar paper, which is made out of Asian palmyra or lontar palm, as a writing medium in the past.

In fact, gedog paper was used in the Pacitan wayang beber performances at the end of the Majapahit era, with a roll of it functioning as a canvas to display epic stories.

The industrial revolution also brought developments in paper production as the modern era dawns. The Dutch East Indies began building paper factories in various regions, such as Leces Probolinggo, Padalarang Bandung, and Blabak Magelang, by the early 1900s.

Paper has a very important position in human history, especially for the three main pillars of civilization, namely science, art, and religion. Since ancient times, paper has been used to spread various knowledge in the form of letters, manuscripts, books, literature, works of art, and holy books.

However, the role of paper began to fade amid the development of digitalization. The use of paper in the world of education, literature, and journalism is gradually being replaced by digital technology.

Bentara Budaya Yogyakarta wants to remind us how important the role of paper is in human history and life throgh the Paper Art Exhibition.

"We are holding this exhibition to give the public, especially the younger generation, an idea of ​​the importance of a piece of paper and its role. This time we want to highlight the role of paper from an artistic perspective, as it turns out that many fields of art use paper as their basis, such as painting, graphic printing, origami, book design, packaging, posters, money. All of those paper arts are in this exhibition," wrote Bentara Budaya Yogyakarta on Jan. 28, 2025.

By presenting various forms of paper-based art, the exhibition invited visitors to re-appreciate the value and beauty of paper that may have been considered trivial. It is also hoped that the exhibition could help sustain awareness of paper's importance in history and art, as well as inspire more people to explore their creative potential through the medium.