A Tribute to Chairil Anwar

In the following six months, my work is a tribute to Chairil Anwar. It is my first science fiction project, titled ‘Bio Fantasy’.

Bio Fantasy is dedicated to honoring Chairil Anwar’s legacy with the intention of reconnecting with his values that forever changed literature and language in Indonesia. I have invited fellow artists to explore their own interpretation of Bio Fantasy. Using the avant-garde principles inherent to Chairil Anwar’s literary approach, each artist had to relinquish their conventional work habits, defy their rationales and tear down any strategical methods, in order to manifest and explore new emotions.

Chairil Anwar was the pioneer of “Angkatan 45” (Indonesia’s art and literary movement that began in 1945). Most Indonesians are familiar with Anwar’s most celebrated poems ‘Aku’ and ‘Krawang-Bekasi’; however, today, information pertaining to his work, his life, and his credo are not widely available. This year-long project, Bio Fantasy, seeks to continue the discourse Anwar began. He was a literary mastermind who single-handedly broke through every conventional protocol and created a new paradigm for Indonesian poetry. His rebellious use of casual diction, unorthodox patterns, and innovative syntax has never failed to inspire new generations of artists, philosophers, and poets.

The first chapter of this Fall-Winter collection will make its debut in October 2015. With this project, I hope you will enjoy Chairil Anwar’s work from a different perspective.

Triple kisses, M. S.

Photographed by Lia Subianto

‘Voice of the Night’, Chairil Anwar’s Anthology of Poetry and Prose with English Translation by Burton Raffel, was the book that inspired me to undertake this ‘Bio Fantasy’ project.

Chairil Anwar

Saya berharap proyek seni ‘Bio Fantasy’ karya Melissa Sunjaya dapat mengabadikan warisan budaya ayahanda, Chairil Anwar, sehingga semua generasi bisa menikmatinya dalam khayalan hayati masing-masing, untuk seribu tahun lagi.

– Evawani Alissa Chairil Anwar
Jakarta, 15 September 2015

Save the Date:
1 October – 31 October 2015
LIFE IN PINK (See, Understand & Love) 
is a Breast Cancer Awareness campaign by Monolog Coffee & Tulisan
in the month of October 2015. The campaign features
6 illustrated archival giclée prints of ‘Bio Fantasy’ by Melissa Sunjaya.