Eldwin Pradipta believes that artists’ use of technology often involves a form of misuse, as they tend to explore its full potential for innovation rather than using it as originally intended. This perspective suggests that contemporary art’s engagement with digital technologies can introduce critical and transformative elements beyond the functional aspects of the technology itself. His work explores the challenges faced by new media artists in utilizing technology to create meaningful and groundbreaking works rather than merely adopting it for its novelty.

Despite his fine arts education, specifically in intermedia and new media, Pradipta finds it challenging to integrate media art into his practice. His initial interest in media art began in school, where he was captivated by its potential to communicate complex ideas and connect with audiences in entirely new ways. He observes that while fine art disciplines have clearly defined parameters, media art often blurs these boundaries, leading to confusion among viewers. This confusion is further compounded by the fact that media art is still considered an emerging field, often misunderstood outside the realm of conventional mediums such as painting.

Believing that artists should create what interests them rather than conforming to commercial demands, Pradipta works across the fields of multimedia, commercial art, and design, where he notices stark differences from traditional fine arts. One notable project from 2011 involved casting projections onto physical objects to create a dialogue between the objects and their cultural context, highlighting their significance—or lack thereof.

Pradipta also explores the commercial aspects of his practice while remaining critical of the commercialization of art. This critique is evident in a series of works he began in 2019, which he continues to develop.

His work often involves multiple techniques to achieve its final form, yet he feels that audiences tend to appreciate it merely for its complexity, technical difficulty, and visual appeal. This perception does not necessarily translate into a deeper understanding or engagement with the philosophical meaning behind the work. At the same time, the lack of familiarity with the medium often leads to an underappreciation of interactive installations.

Recently, Pradipta has been exploring themes related to his Chinese-Indonesian heritage, reflecting on the political tensions and cultural dynamics between China and Indonesia. He appropriates elements of traditional Chinese art to comment from both personal and historical perspectives.

The conversation with Pradipta highlights the complexities and challenges of integrating technology into contemporary art practice. While technology offers new possibilities for artistic expression, critical engagement is necessary to avoid perpetuating stereotypes and to fully realize its potential. Bridging the gap between traditional and media arts is essential to fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of both.

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Eldwin Pradipta, born in Jakarta (1990). Graduated from Faculty of Art & Design, Insititut Teknologi Bandung, majored in intermedia art studio, currently lives and works in Bandung, Indonesia. His works mainly explore video, installation, and digital projection as a medium.

His early works often focus on the subject of populist or low art in Indonesia, in juxtaposition and dichotomization with objects and praxis of high art. The life of the people is also one of the backgrounds and recurring themes in some of his works. Through such a perspective, Eldwin puts forward the disjuncture and ruptures in the order of things in daily life in Indonesia as a third world country.

Through the year, his work has examined various subject matter, from natural landscapes painting, high art low art distinction, craft and traditional art, cultural commodification, cities histories in ties with colonialism, then art world itself with its commercialization.

At the most recent development of his work, Eldwin focuses on interactive art to re-explore relationships between artwork and its audiences. This theme questions how much influence, other than from the artist, can affect the final output of the artwork itself. In conjunction with these series, triggered by the requirement to use various sensors in his works, Eldwin was also interested in examining how far a machine, computer, or artificial intelligence can have “senses” just like humans.