Indonesian artist Puri Fidhini turns memories of Iceland into surreal oil-on-canvas landscapes at ARTSPACE, on view until 17 January 2027. Chessboards, dice, and half-open doors turn out to be the only map you need.
Most souvenirs from Iceland are the obvious sort: a photograph of a glacier, a woolly jumper, or simply a very expensive receipt. Indonesian artist Puri Fidhini came home with something harder to frame, and has spent the years since painting it anyway. The result is “Somewhere, Elsewhere”, now showing at ARTSPACE on the lobby level of Mangkuluhur ARTOTEL Suites in Jakarta until 17 January 2027. The exhibition is presented in collaboration with creative art studio EIARTI. It traces back to Puri’s 2019 residency in Reykjavík, where she encountered ice, mountains, and sea on a scale far removed from her everyday surroundings. A return trip in 2022 added fresh layers.
Her oil-on-canvas works don’t document the place. Instead, they assemble fragments of memory into surreal scenes. Houses, mountains, water, and open space share the frame with chessboards, playing pieces, cards, and dice. In Puri’s telling, life is a game of strategy, chance, and the illusion of control. Doors, windows, and walls, meanwhile, mark the line between what is seen and what stays hidden.
Among the works on show are “Lost and Found in the Blue”, “A Scene from the Last Round”, and “The Migration of the Whale”. The titles read rather like chapters of a half-remembered dream.
For the hotel, the show is a statement of intent. “Through ‘Somewhere, Elsewhere’, we are not only bringing art into a hotel space, but also opening an opportunity for guests and visitors to engage with the perspectives and stories an artist carries,” says General Manager Faisal Tranggono. He adds that the team hopes to keep hosting launch exhibitions in future.
Wander through on the way to check-in, and the lobby starts to feel less like somewhere to pass through and more like somewhere, well, elsewhere.
Mangkuluhur ARTOTEL Suites
Jalan Gatot Subroto, Semanggi
Jakarta 12930, Indonesia
T: (+62) 215268833
E: mangkuluhur@artotelsuites.com
