Tromarama is an artist-unit based in Bandung, Indonesia. It was established in 2004 by Febie Babyrose (born 1985), Herbert Hans (born 1984) and Ruddy Hatumena (born 1984), who were then students at the Bandung Institute of Technology . Since appearing in the 2008 Singapore Biennial, they have been the focus of much attention worldwide.

With backgrounds in design and printmaking, the members make unique animation works using woodblock printmaking and stop-motion techniques as well as an array of commonly-found objects. Their best known artwork is “Serigala Militia” (2006), which is a music video for the Jakarta-based rock band Seringai. In that work, each frame was made from a single woodblock print; approximately 450 woodblocks were necessary to complete the piece. Serigala Militia combines time-consuming manual labor, dynamic images and an Indonesian rock soundtrack. Meanwhile, in the music video they made for the indies band RNRM, they used 12kg of buttons and 1kg of beads to make a colorful and cheerful presentation.

Tromarama's works, which combine an exceptional sense of design, rough finish and low-tech sensibility, inspire in us feelings of nostalgia and freshness, and thereby convey new possibilities for art and pop culture. Raised on music videos from the West and also Japanese pop culture such as anime and manga, Tromarama’s works suggest the influence of many cultures, and yet they also have their own genuinely unique perspective. Using traditional techniques and everyday materials, Tromarama’s artistic vision is old and new, local and global, and it is worthy of attention as it offers a new form of expression for Asian artists. At the Mori Art Museum, Tromarama shows past works as well as a new video installation made, using the traditional Indonesian dying method of batik.

Family Workshop
Mari Sini Buat Animasi（! Let's Make an Animation!）13:00-17:00 Saturday 24 July, 2010 Admission: ¥1,000 (Bookings required, exhibition ticket required)

Artists’ talk*
Japanese-English simultaneous interpretation available, 13:30–15:00 Sunday, 25 July 2010 Admission: Free (Bookings required, exhibition ticket required)
*Bookings can be made from 11:00 Friday, 2 July on the Mori Art Museum website.

* The text provided by Mori Art Museum.

Opened dates: July 24 - November 7, 2010