8/6/2019 The Authentic Escape - Sulawesi, Indonesia _ The Australian _ July 2011

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6 TRAVEL & INDULGENCE THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN, JULY 16-17, 2011 www.theaustralian.com.au

AP/ANDYWONG

A womantakesonthe iron beastsofLiu Ruowang’ssculptureWolfComing 

{ THE BEIJING GALLERYTEST }

Painting the cityon a shifting canvasContemporary visualarts are flourishingin China’srestless and sprawling capital

BRENDAN SHANAHAN

A trip through theart world isaguaranteedway togetrightunderthecity’sthick skin

FABLED asthe ancient capital of 

China’snorth,modernBeijingis asmog-chokedcityof 22million.

It combines the endless,characterless sprawl of LosAngeles (minus the glamour oroptimism) with the dreariness of the most soul-crushing easternEuropeanurbanism.

Its only obvious drawcards forthe casual tourist are a handful of historicand modernmonuments,its proximity to the Great WallandthechancetoeatPekingduckinits cityof origin.

But for all its faults, and forreasons not easily quantified orarticulated, Beijing remains weirdly fascinating. It’s the un-disputed artistic and intellectualcapitalofChinaandBeijingersarekeen to remind people that whattheylackinstyletheymakeupforinsubstance.

First among the city’s artisticlures, at least for foreigners, mustsurely be its enormous visual artsscene.Inthe pasttwodecadestheChinese contemporary art scenehas boomed so much as to com-

pletely change the polarity of theinternational art landscape:China is now the world’s biggestartmarketandBeijingiswhereal-mosteverythingis beingmade.

Thecityishometohundreds,if notthousands,ofart galleriesanddozens of villages housing artistsfrom across the country and the world. A trip through the Beijingart world offers a stimulatingintroduction to the city and aguaranteedwayto getrightunderthecity’sthickskin.

There are three main contem-porary art districts. The closest tothe city is also the most visited.Dashanzi, or 798 as it’s known inreferenceto itsbiggestbuilding,isa huge complex of disused armsfactories in the eastern suburbs.I t ’s here you’ll find some of the best-established and largestgalleriesin thecountry.

Setwithinthe soaringvaultsof the old industrial buildings, thegalleries at 798 are almost asdramatic as the art they contain.Here you’ll find renownedgalleries such as the Long March

Space, a rambling series of roomsexhibiting everything from vastinstallations to video works andpaintings by up-and-coming and veteranartists.

Upstairs is Chinese Contem-porary, a relatively small gallery by the hangar-like standards of 798butonerepresentingsomebignames in Chinese contemporaryart, including Zhang Xiaogang,Huang Rui andthe Luo Brothers.Another space with a vibrant ex-hibition roster is Amelie Gallery,featuring an eclectic range of shows, from avant-garde photo-graphyto landscape.

The 798 complex takes up sev-eral city blocks but is relativelyaccessible: the idea is to simplyturn up and see what’s on. Inrecent years, however, it’s argu-able that the art has becomesomewhat secondary, as 798 isnow home to bars, restaurants,

clothing stores and a boutique

hotel. During the Olympics itevenhostedan exhibitionof Nikeshoes, none of which has exactlyenhanced 798’s image among thecity’s avant-garde as a gentrifiedculturalthemepark.Whetherthiscriticismhas anymeritis amatterfordebate,butthoseseriousaboutChinese contemporary art doneedto gofartherafield.

F o und ed i n 2 00 0 b y A iWeiwei,artistand architectof theOlympic Bird’s Nest stadium,Caochangdi has since succeeded798 as the hot spot of contem-porary art. Centred on a series of complexes designed by Ai, thegalleries offer a huge range of localandinternationalexhibits.

Atthenorthernentrancetothe  village is the Three ShadowsPhotography Art Centre. Found-ed in 2007 by Chinese photo-grapherRong Rongand hisJapa-nese partner Inri,Three Shadowsis housed in an enormous grey brickbuildingdesignedby Aithatis a nod to both Beijing’s oldhutongs and the Great Wall. The

gallery, a non-commercial space,  wasthe first inChina devoted ex-clusively to photography and  video, and features a changingrosterofmuseum-qualityshows.

Attached is an excellent cafeandbookshopwhereyoucanpickup free publications such as theCIGE Gallery Guide, which hasnumerous reviews, or GallerySights, which includes maps of Caochangdi and other art dis-tricts.Or youcouldjustrest,drinkteaand,inwinter,watchthesnowfallin theserenegreycourtyard.

In the immediate vicinity of Three Shadows are commercialgalleries and mini-museums thatoffer the chance to spend a day wanderingfromgallerytogallery.

Nextdooris Ai’soriginalbuilding,China Art Archives and Ware-house, a cavernous space show-casing avant-garde (especiallyconceptual) art from across the world.A fewblocksto thesouthisthe stunning ‘‘red village’’, a com-plex of minimal red-brick court-yardbuildingsdesignedby Aiandconnectedbya labyrinthof alleys.

Each building houses numer-ous galleries, many set amongpeaceful, beautifully tendedcourtyard gardens, making forone of the quietest and mostpleasant walking tours the cityhasto offer.

AvisittoCaochangdiis amust but it is also a reminder that it isdifficult, if not impossible, toentirelyappreciateartinChinaonamerelyaestheticlevel.

At the time of its founding,Caochangdi was considered to beon the periphery of the city. In

only a decade, Beijing has swal-loweditupanditisnowprimerealestate. As has already happenedto other art colonies throughoutthecity—suchastheZhengyangCreative Art Zone, which wasdemolished in late 2009 — the whole of Caochangdi is slated for

destruction and redevelopmentforhousing.

The protests of artists andgallery owners may have hadsome effect, because there seemsto have been a stay of execution,although its fate remains uncer-tain.More disturbingstill wasthedisappearance of Ai, who wasarrested on April 3. His where-abouts remained unknown untilhe was released on bail lastmonth. The charges against himare tax fraud-related, but many believe his imprisonment was a  warning against his outspokenpoliticalviewsat atime whentalkof a Chinese ‘‘jasmine revolution’’ wasintheair.

Perhaps the vitality of modernChinese art stems from thefact that the avant-garde still hasthe capacity to provoke thepowers that be in a way thatin the West has long seemedhopelessly quixotic.

Other than 798, the one art  village unlikely to be threatened  with imminent destruction is

Songzhuang, in the Tongzhoudistrict slightly north of the townof the same name, about 50 min-utes by road from downtownBeijing. Comprising dozens of individual art villages and com-plexes, Songzhuang is now hometo thousands of artists, includingsuch senior figures as paintersYue Minjun and Fang Lijun, con-ceptualists Wang Jin and ZhuFadong and satirical photo-grapherZhao Bandi.

F o r no w t he o u tl o ok o f  Songzhuang seems good; thelocal authorities in this satellitecityseemtorecognisetheimport-ance of the creative communityandhaveencouragedeventssuchas the annual art festival. Beijing,however,is amercurialbeast.Lifein this city can change at amoment’s notice — so get therequick, before someone changestheirmind.

Checklist

Local guideChengPing (known

asVicky)takesvisitorstomeetartistsin theirstudios andcanadviseon purchasingart;about500yuan($73)forafive-hourtour.More:

 vicky2008@hotmail.com.BeijingJourneyTravel offersgood-valuetourstoall art

 villagesandart schoolsinSongzhuang.More:

 beijingjourney.com.ChARTContemporaryis runbyexpatswho conducttoursforcuratorialstafffromUS andEuropeangalleries andmuseums;theyalso tailortoursforvisitors.More:chartcontemporary.com.Tryto visitsomeof thesmaller

 villages,suchas HegezhuangandFeijiacun,botha short waynorthofCaochangdi.The latterishometoImagineGallery,one of thefewspacesin BeijingthatexhibitsbothChineseandexpatartists, includingAustralians.More:imagine-gallery.com.

The time I served up the full McCartney on a rainy night in IseTHE INCIDENTAL TOURIST

ALISTAIR JONES

AsI begintosing, alltheyearsI misspentplayingin pianobarscomeflooding back

IT is a rainy night in Ise. I’m notexactlyhoveringbymysuitcase—thatwasstashedsomehoursagoata ramshackle ryokan — but I’mcertainly trying to find a warmplace to spend the evening in this Japanesecountrytown.

The local mall is deserted andonly the clang of railway bellsstirs the air. I’m getting thatlonesome me feeling; an outsiderinneedofabeer.

There’s a light on down a crossstreet where I slip through someslatted doors. Inside, two womenof a certain age are preppingingredients.They’restartledthatagaijinhasappearedfromnowhere, but since I’m their only customerthey can’t claim there’s no room,

an occasional strategy for fobbingoff foreigners.

I mind my manners and am onmy third drink when the kindlierof the two brings some specialpickles. ‘‘Story,’’ she says abruptly.We establish that I’m from Aus-tralia (‘‘Ah, koala!’’) and beforelong she transforms into an auntyandis whippingup comfortfood.

Feeling the code has beencracked,Itrackdownthesourceof some singing in an adjacent alley.Ahigh, tremulousvoiceis makinga meal out of a ballad. There’s a

doorajarandIslideintoatinybar.Itwouldstruggletoaccommodatesixpeoplewithtwo ofthem stand-ing. The only other patron is a bloke sportinga capand polyesterleisurewear. He’s making mean-ingfuleyecontactwiththewoman behind the bar as he wrings the

emotion from a song. He’s alsohalfway through a bottle of soju,the Korean distilled spirit that’smorelikeethanolthanvodka.

There’s some truth to thenational joke that Japan plusalcoholequalskaraoke.

The woman fixes me a drink before having a turn at the micro-phone. She’s slightly morerestrained than her male admirer but equally enthusiastic aboutmelisma,akindofpitchoscillationon key syllables. It can be trickyfor amateurs.

What’s always been strikingabout karaoke since it emergedfrom Kobe in the early 1970s ishow graciously the Japanese willapplaud lousy singers. The worsethebetter,itseems.

Iwouldgenerallyprefertopokemy eye out with a chopstick thanhave anything to do with karaoke butIcanfeelmyturniscoming.

I dodge for another couple of rounds. Then, sure enough, acatalogueasthickasaphonebookcomes out and at the back are theinevitableBeatles selections.

May I not rot in hell for choos-ing Yesterday.

The backing track is quite con- vincing. Whoever knocked it off didagoodjob.AsIbegintosing,allthe years I misspent playing inpianobarscomefloodingback.I’mon a roll and glide down the firstday-e-yay-e-yay-e-yay like atrickling stream.

Inmy peripheralvisionI noticemynew friendsturningpale.

Butit’stoolatetoturnbackandIserve upthe fullMcCartney.Thesong ends and there’s deathly

silence.Ourganghasclammedup.Perhapsthey thinkI actually am aBeatle. Either way there’ll be nomore singing while I’m around.I don’t want to spoil the partyso I leave.

Atleastthetaxidriverispleasedtoseeme.

Thisisourthirdridetogetherso we’re almost old friends. Best notto reveal that his passenger is thedreaded Karaoke Killer, a toxicforce at singalongs. All it takes isenough booze and an old Beatlessong.Officepartiesbeware.

PICTURES:MATTHEWCROMPTON

Beneath theturquoisewatersthereare coralgardensinhabitedby schoolsof brightlycolouredfish

The authentic escapeGet away from itall on Sulawesi’sTogianIslands

MATTHEW

CROMPTON

TheBajau, wholive in villages builton stiltsoverthe water, welcomevisitors withkindnessand curiosity

 BORNEO

Tomini Bay

Ampana

 BALI LOMBOK

SULAWESI 

TIMOR

I N D O N E S I A

Kendari

TOGIAN ISLANDS 

Tau Pan

 Kadidiri Bomba

Gorontalo

ON a map, Indonesia’s Sulawesilooks like a starfish being blowneastward in the wind. This is the  world’s 11th-largest island, ageological oddity populated bysome of the most exceptionalcreaturesand culturesin Asia.

Although I’ve journeyed fornearly three full days to reach theremote Togian Islands in Sula- wesi’sheart,I’vecomeasmuchfor what the islands lack as for whatthey have. I’ve come, in short, to

getaway.My quest is for an authenticescape: a place where the flotsamis driftwood instead of plastic,therearenocrowdsandthepeaceis all-pervasive.

It’s at sunset on the third day when I finally step on to the dockof Togian Island Retreat witho w ne r S y lv i e M a nl e y, t hesun kissingthewesternhorizonina blaze of orange fire and my  bones sti l l buzzing from a21/2-hourboatride.

‘‘I don’t like to use the wordresort, ’ ’ she says as we walktowards the cottages. ‘‘For me, it’smuchmorethanthat.’’

Indeed, for a Robinson Crusoefantasy, you’d be hard-pressed tofind a better image. On the broadporch of my cottage beneath theshade of a coconut grove, I sitin the dusk with a cold beer,admiring the weatherbeaten  wooden jetty jutting into the water like a crooked spine. Thereare tiny volcanic islets in the dis-tance,theseaisasflatandclearasglass, a turquoise mottled cobalt

 with seagrasses. There are nophoneshere, Manley has toldme,and no roads, television, internetaccessorneighbours.

I f the apocalypse were tohappen elsewhere, it’s entirelyconceivablethatyou’dmiss it.

Thisisnottosaytheislandsare withouttheircomforts.I’mstirredfrommyreveriebysuddencriesof ‘‘ Mangia! Mangia!’’fromtheItaliantravellers next door. They’rehastening towards the cafe likepredators out for blood, and I cansoonseewhy.Thistinyoutpost,soisolated it can’t even receive mail,serves, amazingly, what must besome of the best internationalfoodin Indonesia.

I’ve been on the road a longtime, and after living on rice fornearly two months, the menu isalmostpornographic.

I gorge on creamy pumpkinsoup and mixed green salad,

spaghetti bolognaise and aprehistoric-looking grilled fishnearlythesizeof acompactcar.

By the time the generatorconks off at 10.30pm, I’m morethan ready to slip into a post-prandialcoma,but firstI takeonelastwalkouttotheendofthejetty.Onthis moonlessnight, thedark-ness and quiet around me are sodeep they feel like an active pres-ence. As I stare up into the sky atan endless depth of stars, I hugmyselfwithakind ofspontaneousgratitude,feelingasolitudesorichitmovesme almostto tears.

Though ripe for moments of keen existential import, theTogians are also good for moresecularenjoyments.Theseislandsare one of the world’s best desti-nations for underwater explo-ration. Tomini Bay, in the bosomof which the Togians lie, is one of the calmest large bodies of water

anywhere,andone ofthe clearest.‘‘Visibility on a good day can

run to 40m,’’ Manley tells me as Igrab my mask and snorkel nextday and head towards the out-rigger boat that will take us to thenearby dive site at Tau Pan, ashallowreefwithsteepwallsdrop-ping off far into the depths. TheTogians are among the onlyplacesin theworldwhereallthreemajor reef environments — frin-ging, barrier and atoll — can befound in close proximity to oneanotherand, rarerstill,whereyoucan dive for a week or more andneverseeanotherboat.

At TauPan, I’mstill in the out-rigger boatfiddlingwithmy mask

 when Silvana, one of the Italiantravellers who’s plunged in first,surfaces after just a minute in the water. ‘‘ Bella!’’ sheco os, taking thesnorkel from her mouth. I roll off the boat and am immediately inanother world: a garden of hardand soft corals in whites andmauves and pinks, darting angel-fish and wrasse, surgeonfish withtheirteardropbodies,andorange-and-white clownfish testilyguardingthe polypsofanemones.

The shallow reef especially isin great shape here, havingrecovered from a period of cyan-ide fishing in the 1990s. As I suckin a huge breath and freedivedown about 7m along the wall, Ican see huge schools of colouredfish above me, circulating likesnowflakesin thesunlight.

It’s the isolation of the Togiansthat has kept these waters —hometolargemarinespeciessuch

as the endangered hawksbill seaturtle,dugong,andevenwhales—largely free of pollution andoverfishing, but it isn’t just thereefsthathavebenefited.

Six ethnic groups share theseislands,makinga livingfromfish-ing and coconut farming, and of thesenoneis friendlierand asun-touched by global commercialculturethan theBajau.

Also known as sea gypsies,these formerly nomadic boatpeoplewereforciblysettledby theDutch, but now live in villages built on stilts over the water, asymbol of their connection to thesea. That afternoon I tread anhour through the jungle with

Guntur, Manley’s son, to visit thetinyBajauvillageof Kulingkinari.Ihavemycamerawithme butI’mfeeling nervous.

Too many times I’ve visited a village that’s been saturated bytourism and been met with sullenstares and demands for money,like an unwelcome guest at ahumanzoo.

‘‘AreyousurethisisOK?’’I askGuntur as I enter the village, ner- vouslyfingeringmylenscap.

‘‘Ofcourse,’’he tellsme.‘‘Thesepeople are Bajau and they love tohavevisitors.’’

My self-consciousness isintense, but as we walk the mainstreetandchildrenfloodout fromthe doorways to follow us as if weare pied pipers, I start to relax.Mothers are holding up their babiestobephotographedandoldmen invite us to sit for coffee —not from any ulterior motive

 but out of kindness and curiosity.After the guilt I ’ve felt on

  village visits elsewhere, it ’srefreshing to be reminded hownaturally people can be broughttogether by nothing more sinisterthanashareddesiretoseehowtheotherlives.

An hour later, after manyhandshakes and countless smiles, we board the boat back to IslandRetreat, skimming across the waterin thelate-daysun.

Looking south, I can see thehills of the mainland far away inthe haze, but it’s like gazing at thesurfaceof aplanetI’ve leftbehind.I smile and turn my face intothe wind, feeling as untethered

as a balloon. For a moment atleast,Ihavetruly escaped.

Checklist

TheTogianIslands haveahandfulof resorts;most arelocatednearthe townof Bombainthe farsouthwestor onKadidiriIslandnearthe centraltownof Wakai.Transporttotheislandsis availablefromseverallocations,withthetownofAmpanain CentralSulawesiandGorontaloin NorthSulawesi

 beingthemostcommonaccess points.Allresorttariffsincludethreemealsa day.Forthe highestlevelofluxury,WaleaDiveResortoffersapackageincludingair andseatransfersfrom Jakartaandthreedivesa dayfromj1280($1690)for sevendays.● togianislandretreat.com● dive-the-world.com