FX Harsono is a child of Indonesian Independence, being born in 1949, the year Indonesia broke free from the shackles of Dutch rule and after five years of bloody struggle. As a Chinese-Javanese, he had lived through the turmoil of Indonesia’s violent past including the New Order 1996-1998, and the suppression and genocide of ethnic Chinese like the 1947-1949 massacre, and more recently the May 1998 ‘riots’ that took the lives of more than 1,100 ethnic Chinese and led to a massive flight of people and capital. Harsono’s brand of ‘protest art’ or Konfrontasi is in the form of paintings, prints, installations and performances. They are high on risk factor, but his message is not about retaliation or even condemnation, but a search of truth, of revelations, of setting free a suppressed memory, so that there is awareness and lessons can be taken. Like Ai Wei Wei after him, his art is one of activism. At 68, Harsono is truly an Indonesian art legend. It comes as no surprise that he was given the Prince Claues Award and the Joseph Balestier Award (for the Freedom of Art) in Art Stage Singapore, both in 2015. In 2014, he was honoured with the Anugerah Adhikarya Rupa. Harsono studied painting at Asri, Yogyakarta, in 1969-1974, and at the Jakarta Art Institute from 1987-1991. He lectured at the Faculty of Art and Design, Pelita Harapan University, in Tangerang, West Jaya, from 2005-2013. He had taken part in the Sydney Biennale in 2016, the 4th Moscow Biennale in 2011. He was artist in residence at the Grafisch Atelier, Amsterdam, 2002-2003, and the South Australian University in Adelaide in 1992. Some of his notable solos include Suara (Voice) (first solo, National Gallery Indonesia, Jakarta, 1994), Surviving Memories (first outside Indonesia, Vanessa Art Link in Beijing, China, 2009), Fx Harsono: Testimonies (Singapore Art Museum, 2010), Writing In The Rain (2012) and The Chronicles of Resilience (2016) in Tyler Rollins, New York, Beyond Identity (Nexus Art Gallery, Adelaide, Australia), Gazing on Identity (2015), ARNDT Fine Art (Gillman Barracks, Singapore, 2016). In Sept 15-Oct 7, 2017, he presented ‘Memorandum of Inhumane Act No. 3’ at A+ Works of Art space in Kuala Lumpur, in a double billing with Chong Kim Chiew.