Restu Ratnaningtyas

Restu Ratnaningtyas’ work depicts a Tong Edan (crazy barrel), a huge timber barrel often seen at night markets in Indonesia. Motorcycle riders drive around and around the inside of the barrel until they are horizontal to the ground. Audience members stand on a platform at the top of the barrel and hold out money for the riders to grab. This print is reminiscent of a paper toy; it can be cut up to produce a scale model of the Tong Edan.

Restu Ratnaningtyas was born in Banten, Indonesia in 1981. She works as an illustrator and artist in Yogyakarta. She mostly works on paper and fabric but often explores other media. Her work deals with issues around society and humanity, from a personal perspective, incorporating objects and symbols from daily domestic life.

Recent exhibitions include The Roving Eye, Arter, Istanbul (2014); Tropenwelle: Brokenwhite Project (2018); Mizuma Art Gallery, Singapore (2018), CYANOSIS, Serrum Art Gallery, Jakarta (2019); Subsume, Baik Art Gallery, Los Angeles (2018); Termasuk: Contemporary art from Indonesia, Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney (2019); Stealing Public Space, Substation, Singapore (2020); Contour 556, Canberra Art Biennial (2020), Sharjah Biennale 16: to carry (2025) and Sea: The Mother’s Embrace, A+ Works of Art, Kuala Lumpur (2025).