D I O R A M A #1 we can see today, and also several other museums, which one of the biggest diorama that was made is the scaled-down version of Indonesia in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah. A grand design, that wanted to be seen, showed glorification, and a promise of a better future. Then, as also mentioned by Hikmat Budiman, diorama had impacted the simplification of narration. Simplify, also referred to not include things “that considered as not so important”, which meant to be easily remembered and accepted without appearance of any counter-narration in the next generation in learning history. Simplify, in the case of Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (Beautiful Indonesia Miniature Park), as illustrated by Hikmat, made us simply called North Sumatra as Batak, South Sulawesi as Bugis, and so on, as if we ignored any other ethnic groups that also coexist there. ***
Inside glass box, there were figures of fingers scratching elbows or nose and also scratching their heads. There were people sitting with leg crossed on the chair in a meeting. There was mouth closely located very near to the ear covered by fingers in the middle of the crowd. There were people pointing with their fingers. Some of the people were sleeping in a meeting. Several were peeking from the outside of the window in meeting. All of those gestures were almost seen in every diorama, on a disconnect narration of history that disconnect and full of distortion, that eventually come to us, the generation of 2000s. Those gestures were identified as ourselves after the enlargements that we did with a technology which was camera, jumping over the fence of the glass boxes. Enlargement from the already established mainstream narrative became the target of our framing, AKUMASSA-Diorama team, along with technology that we used which was camera and the possibility of zooming that allowed us to see things that are trapped inside glass box.
We grew as the generation that did not experience the historical event in person. We were treated as if we experienced the historical situation, –with the presence of infrastructures that put history–, as the
formal objects, only to be able to answer the test at schools. And it made me feel pretty detached from the narration that were presented in the diorama. Yes, even though diorama were actually presented for us that were not experience the history itself.
Our thoughts were messed up by the academics act that trying to show us the historical evidence, refused the others; decided the scapegoat, pointed the heroes, and so on; building the imagination of “sophisticated conspiracy”, and we unconsciously spoke about it as something exotic. Monas diorama visitors were quite crowded and diverse. Some of them were came with friends, partners, family, school group, or only by themselves. There are also some of them randomly viewed diorama, unchronological; and they were made up of several groups that were not guided, just choose what they wanted to see. Some of them understood the text which written in front of the glass box. Some others only saw and heard the words from guides and mentors, some just enjoyed the beauty of visual portrayals. Some other visitors brought out their cameras and took pictures in front of it.
A group of young people started to stand with their backs facing the diorama glass box, raising their digital cameras or smartphones and taking pictures of themselves who were outside the diorama; looking the results for a while, then repeating this action many times and then continuing to the other visual narratives that again were interesting for them. Then they did the selection, and the publication. These activities were seen a very performative act. The visitors deliberately decided the narration, connecting themselves to the history which then became their pose backgrounds, independently. Not long ago, AKUMASSA-Diorama team, with the help of a tele-lens camera, found strange things in the diorama. There were three pairs of feet lying in the corner. Later, we also realized that many diorama figures stood strangely. Asymmetrically. Some of them were talking to themselves. Some held the broken swords. Maybe the maker were careless….? But…. who cares!
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