Paling Top (Top Most)

A toy replica M-16 rifle is encased in a cheap wooden crate covered by wire mesh. Above the rifle, the words “Paling Top ’75” (translated as “The Most Top ’75”) stencilled in bold black letters on the white lining of the crate, give the artwork its title. Together these elements symbolise the dominance of the military in Indonesian politics during President Suharto’s New Order era (from 1965 to 1998). They also stand for the extensive repression and corruption within Indonesian society. The image mocks the Indonesian military and acts as a most literal reminder of the violence that pervaded the country. In this work, the artist, FX Harsono, eliminates all paint marks and traces of his presence, and makes no reference to carnage or suffering. Nevertheless, Paling Top is a politically-charged conceptual work that is explicitly critical. In the same year this work was produced, Harsono co-founded the Indonesian New Art Movement as an alternative to the controlling influence of the state on art and culture. The aim of the group was to create art that not only challenged prescribed aesthetic values but also responded to the socio-political problems around them.