ARA CONTEMPORARY PRESENTS HYPNAGOGIA | TRACING TIME BY ALBERT YONATHAN S.

Images courtesy of Ara Contemporary

Albert Yonathan Setyawan Explores Time, Space, and Transformation

Ara Contemporary presents Hypnagogia | Tracing Time, a solo exhibition by Indonesian contemporary artist Albert Yonathan Setyawan, on view from 23 May to 28 June 2026. The exhibition marks the continuation of the artist’s long-standing exploration of repetition, materiality, and the philosophical nature of existence through terracotta.

Known for his meticulous ceramic practice, Setyawan employs slip-casting—a technique commonly associated with industrial production—to create hundreds of hand-finished terracotta modules. Rather than pursuing perfect replication, the repeated casting process allows each form to gradually evolve, revealing subtle imperfections that become tangible records of time, transformation, and impermanence.

A central highlight is Annica, a monumental installation comprising more than 1,000 terracotta pieces produced from a single mould. As the mould slowly deteriorates through repeated use, each successive object loses detail, embodying the Buddhist concept of constant change and challenging conventional notions of permanence and authenticity.

Presented by Interni Cipta Selaras

The exhibition’s title work, Hypnagogia, extends this inquiry through modular architectural compositions. Familiar elements of interior and exterior spaces are repeated into intricate geometric structures that blur perspective and spatial logic. The resulting installations evoke dreamlike environments, suggesting that both architecture and human perception are continually reshaped by memory, time, and lived experience.

Complementing the sculptural works, the three-channel video installation Squaring the Circle – Circling the Square documents the artist’s futile attempts to transform a cube into a sphere and vice versa. The work reflects on humanity’s pursuit of perfection while revealing the inevitable limitations imposed by time, material, and physical reality.

Through quiet yet deeply contemplative works, Hypnagogia | Tracing Time invites viewers to reflect on the fluid relationship between body, space, and time. Rooted in terracotta—one of humanity’s oldest materials—the exhibition becomes a meditation on impermanence, demonstrating that even the most seemingly static forms are constantly undergoing transformation.