Between recolonisation and decolonisation: Documenta 15 and the political decontextualisation of art

Abstract

Documenta 15, a global exhibition of contemporary art that took place in 2022 in Germany, over a period of 100 days, stands out for two reasons: (1) for the first time Documenta was under artistic directorship of an art collective, and (2) it was scandalised for displaying allegedly antisemitic art, mainly blaming Taring Padi (TP), a group of progressive artists and activists from Indonesia. In this paper we argue that the political decontextualisation of TP’s work and the virality of its scapegoating led to the recolonisation of art that reinforced existing power hierarchies and denied space for dialogue and education. In a second part, we change the scene and provide insight into TP’s work in Indonesia, as one of the creative forces leading to the end of the authoritarian Suharto regime in 1998 and evolving in the ensuing reformation era. Only through continuous political and cultural contextualisation can the artwork, and its symbolism, be understood as a way to come to terms with a violent past. In a third part, we discuss the arts, hegemony and decolonisation more generally and in part four possible ways forward and how ‘the scandal’ can actually create productive dialogues and begin an unprecedented process of decolonising art exhibitions and museums.