Representing and mediating political memory through visual activism: a hermeneutic analysis of Ambara's Wiji Thukul: planting words poster

Article Sidebar

PDF
Published: Jun 30, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.33153/glr.v24i1.7945
Keywords:
Visual Activism, Political Memory, Hermeneutic , Action Posters Indonesia

Main Article Content

I Gusti Ngurah Tri Marutama Rai
Universitas Sebelas Maret, Surakarta
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1420-3194
Bambang Sunarto
Institut Seni Indonesia, Surakarta
Mudji Sutrisno
Sekolah Tinggi Filsafat Driyarkara, Jakarta Pusat

Abstract

This study examines how Ambara's Wiji Thukul: Planting Words poster represents and supports the mediation of political memory through visual activism in post New Order Indonesia. Previous studies of Indonesian action posters have primarily focused on symbolism, visual rhetoric, and political messaging, while giving limited attention to how activist posters mediate historical memory through their visual form. Using a qualitative case study design and a Ricoeurian hermeneutic approach, the study analyses the poster alongside historical documents, artist statements, and literature on Indonesian political activism. The findings show that political memory is mediated through a recurring visual structure centred on the figure of Wiji Thukul, stencil aesthetics, resistance-oriented textual fragments, agricultural imagery, and a red–black color palette. These elements organize narratives of disappearance, state violence, democratic resistance, and social justice into a coherent visual framework. The study demonstrates that activist posters function not only as commemorative artefacts but also as mnemonic media that represent historical experience and support the circulation of political memory within contemporary Indonesian political culture.

 

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article Details

Issue
Vol. 24 No. 1 (2026)
Section
Articles
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Copyright

Authors who publish with Gelar: Jurnal Seni Budaya agrees to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. 
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
Author Biography

I Gusti Ngurah Tri Marutama Rai, Universitas Sebelas Maret, Surakarta

Lecturer, Digital Media Design Study program, Faculty of Vocational School, Universitas Sebelas Maret

References

[1] A. Minanto, “Street Art and a New Space of Democracy in Post-Soeharto Indonesia: Reading Anti-Tank Project Posters,” J. Komun. Indones., vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 29–46, 2024, doi: 10.7454/jkmi.v13i1.1230.

[2] S. Ismoyo and A. Isvara, “Seni dan Demokrasi: Pemanfaatan Ruang Publik sebagai Sarana Ekspresi, Perlawanan, dan Advokasi oleh Komunitas Taring Padi,” Irama J. Seni, Desain dan Pembelajarannya, vol. 7, pp. 8–24, Feb. 2025, doi: 10.17509/irama.v7i1.80314.

[3] B. H. Nugroho, “Digital Activism and Youth Participation in Indonesia: A Qualitative Study of Social Media’s Role in Contemporary Social Movements,” Priviet Soc. Sci. J., vol. 5, no. 10, pp. 91–105, 2025, doi: 10.55942/pssj.v5i10.603.

[4] K. D. Murphy and S. O’Driscoll, “The Art/History of Resistance: Visual Ephemera in Public Space,” Sp. Cult., vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 328–357, 2015, doi: 10.1177/1206331215596490.

[5] M. Rovisco and A. Veneti, “Picturing Protest: Visuality, Visibility and The Public Sphere,” Vis. Commun., vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 271–277, 2017, doi: 10.1177/1470357217704633.

[6] O. Ozduzen, “From Streets to Courthouses: Digital and Post-digital Forms of Image Activism in The Post-occupy Turkey,” Turkish Stud., vol. 22, pp. 267–289, 2021, doi: 10.1080/14683849.2020.1870105.

[7] A. Landsberg, Prosthetic Memory : The Transformation of American Remembrance in The Age of Mass Culture, I. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004, doi: 10.2307/30036756.

[8] J. Davidjants and K. Tiidenberg, “Activist Memory Narration on Social Media: Armenian Genocide on Instagram,” New Media Soc., vol. 24, no. 10, pp. 2191–2206, 2022, doi: 10.1177/1461444821989634.

[9] T. Trillò, B. Hallinan, and L. Shifman, “A Typology of Social Media Rituals,” J. Comput. Commun., vol. 27, no. 4, p. zmac011, 2022, doi: 10.1093/jcmc/zmac011.

[10] R. Kuo and S. J. Jackson, “The Political Uses of Memory: Instagram and Black-Asian Solidarities,” Media, Cult. Soc., vol. 46, no. 1, pp. 164–186, 2024, doi: 10.1177/01634437231185963.

[11] S. Voli and L. Virtù, “Collective Memory and Trans History in the Italian Context: Archival Practices and The Creation of the First Trans Archive in Italy,” Mem. Stud., vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 113–125, Feb. 2023, doi: 10.1177/17506980221141994.

[12] K. Liudmyla and B. Valeriia, “Social Media as a Platform for Shaping Collective Memory of the Events of the Russian-Ukrainian War,” Innov. Eur. J. Soc. Sci. Res., vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 1–16, 2025, doi: 10.17721/UCS.2025.1(16).04.

[13] B. Bräuchler, “Artivism in Maluku,” Asia Pacific J. Anthropol., vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 40–58, Jan. 2022, doi: 10.1080/14442213.2021.2003426.

[14] A. D. Floranti, Y. Mubarok, A. R. Saifullah, and W. Gunawan, “Urban Arts as Critical Commentary Acts of Pandemic in Indonesia: Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis,” Cogent Arts Humanit., vol. 10, no. 1, p. 2256087, Dec. 2023, doi: 10.1080/23311983.2023.2256087.

[15] H. Ikhwan, V. I. Yulianto, and G. D. Parahita, “The Contestation of Social Memory in The New Media: A Case Study of The 1965 Killings in Indonesia,” Adv. Southeast Asian Stud., vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 3–16, 2019, doi: https://doi.org/10.14764/10.ASEAS-0010.

[16] A. Christianna, A. I. Saidi, R. M. Sihombing, and N. Yanti, “Coastal Settlements and Javanese Vernacular Art: A Historical and Cultural Analysis of Damar Kurung Gresik in Indonesia,” Int. Soc. Study Vernac. Settlements, 2023, doi: 10.61275/ISVSej-2023-10-12-22.

[17] S. Eddyono, “The Shift in the Regime of Silence: Selective Erasure of the 1965 Massacre in Post-New Order Indonesia’s Official Narrative,” Mem. Stud., 2023, doi: 10.1177/17506980231155565.

[18] Robert K. Yin, Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods. Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area Mathura Road, New Delhi, 2018.

[19] M. Q. Patton, Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods, III. Thousand Oaks, London, New Delhi: SAGE Publications, 2001.

[20] P. Ricoeur, Hermeneutics and the Human Sciences: Essays on Language, Action and Interpretation, I. Cambridge. Massachusetts. London: Cambridge University Press, 2016.

[21] P. Ricoeur, Interpretation theory: Discourse and the surplus of meaning. TCU press, 1976.

[22] D. M. Kaplan, Teori Kritis Paul Ricoeur, I. Yogyakarta: Pustaka Utama, 2010.

[23] N. K. Denzin, Handbook of Qualitative Research, VI. London.California. New Delhi. Singapore: SAGE Publications, 2023.

[24] S. V. Pryshchenko, “Cultural Heritage of a Poster: Communicative and Creative Experience,” Creat. Stud., vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 18–33, 2021, doi: 10.3846/cs.2021.12605.

[25] A. Barak, “Fusing Horizons in Qualitative Research: Gadamer and Cultural Resonances,” Qual. Res. Psychol., vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 768–783, Jul. 2022, doi: 10.1080/14780887.2020.1854403.

[26] M. Mortensen and H.-J. Trenz, “Media Morality and Visual Icons in the Age of Social Media: Alan Kurdi and the Emergence of an Impromptu Public of Moral Spectatorship,” Javn. - Public, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 343–362, Oct. 2016, doi: 10.1080/13183222.2016.1247331.

[27] L. Cox, “Scholarship and Activism: A Social Movements Perspective,” Stud. Soc. justice, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 34–53, 2015, doi: 10.26522/ssj.v9i1.1153.

[28] A. M. Conroe, “Generating History: Violence and the Risks of Remembering for Families of Former Political Prisoners in Post-New Order Indonesia.,” The Universitas of Michigan, 2012.

[29] Wilson, Kebenaran Akan Terus Hidup Catatan-Catatan Tentang Wiji Thukul, I. Jakarta: YAPPIKA, 2007.

[30] O. Fridman, Memory Activism and Digital Practices after Conflict: Unwanted Memories, I. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2022, doi: 10.2307/j.ctv2n4w5fk.

[31] S. L. Miller and R. A. O. Sibarani, “‘The Flower and the Wall’: Poet‐Activist Wiji Thukul and Progressive Martyrdom in Post‐Suharto Indonesia,” Polit. Gov., vol. 12, no. I, pp. 1–15, 2024, doi: 10.17645/pag.7768.

[32] M. Foucault, Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings, 1972-1977, I. New York: Pantheon Books, 1980.

[33] R. Breazu, “Violence in Mass-Mediated Images and Memory. Phenomenological Account of Prosthetic Memories,” Phenomenol. Cogn. Sci., vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 1–19, 2024, doi: 10.1007/s11097-024-10027-6.

[34] A. Landsberg, “Prosthetic Memory: The Ethics and Politics of Memory in An Age of Mass Culture,” Mem. Pop. Film, pp. 144–161, 2018, doi: 10.7765/9781526137531.00014.

[35] N. Basaraba and T. Cauvin, “Public History and Transmedia Storytelling for Conflicting Narratives,” Rethink. Hist., vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 221–247, Apr. 2023, doi: 10.1080/13642529.2023.2184969.

[36] J. Dragović-Soso, “Orli Fridman, Memory Activism and Digital Practices after Conflict: Unwanted Memories,” Mem. Mind Media, vol. 3, p. e2, 2024, doi: 10.1017/mem.2023.14.

[37] G. K. T. van Leeuwen, Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design, II. London and New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2006.

[38] A. Isvara and S. Ismoyo, “Art as a Medium of Deliberation: A Case Study of Public Space Utilization by the Taring Padi Community,” Arty J. Seni Rupa, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 27–38, 2025, doi: 10.15294/arty.v14i1.19284.

[39] Y. Hamilakis, “Sensorial Assemblages: Affect, Memory and Temporality in Assemblage Thinking,” Cambridge Archaeol. J., vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 169–182, 2017, doi: 10.1017/S0959774316000676.