Born in 1960 in Jakarta, Heri Dono studied at the Institut Seni Indonesia but dropped out of school to study wayang kulit (shadow puppet). He uses the traditional art form wayang kulit (shadow puppet) and adapts it as his contemporary medium of expression in his art. In addition, the influence this traditional art form can also be seen in Heri’s installations, performance arts as well as his paintings.A social commentary on how the Indonesian government then used military forces as a solution to problems, Heri’s “The Secret Boxes” is a response to the massacre in East Timor in 1991. The military state is represented by the half torso on top of the boxes while the map of the Earth symbolized authority and traditional herbs and jamu are symbols of human body on Earth. Underneath each box is a piece of paper money, commonly used in Chinese religious ceremonies, symbolizing Heri’s wish for the souls of the massacred to be well-rested.
