Dionisius Caraka

STEM Projects is pleased to present Setelah 60 Petak, a solo presentation by Dionisius Caraka. In this new body of work, Dion investigates how numbers and statistics—often seen as objective truths—shape our understanding of land, labor, and livelihood in Indonesia’s contemporary agricultural landscape.

Formulas and numerical logic have long served as both intellectual tools and cultural symbols. Earlier projects linked these ideas to the narratives of Indonesia’s education system. In Setelah 60 Petak, the artist shifts this inquiry toward the economics and lived realities of farming communities.

The exhibition draws from Dion’s observations in Boro, a village near the southern coast of Java undergoing a rapid transition from agrarian traditions to accelerated development. Using trade statistics from agricultural commodities in Kulon Progo, he translates numerical data into visual compositions on canvas and paper. Through diagrams, grids, and geometric forms, Dion transforms raw statistics into poetic fields of connection—lines and curves meeting, dots linking into networks, and numerical abstractions revealing deeper tensions. The works reveal how farmers navigate complex layers of pressure: negotiations with middlemen, challenges within state cooperatives, fluctuating prices, destructive pests, and declining natural resources. While statistics often present simplified narratives of progress or decline, Dion’s artworks highlight the unseen stories behind the numbers—stories of spirituality, ecology, vulnerability, and resilience.

Through Setelah 60 Petak, Dion invites viewers to reflect on the difference between what is presented and what is lived, recorded, and remembered by the body.