Cosmology Series

As a special presentation at ARTJOG: RESILIENCE 2020, Eddy Susanto (b. 1975, Jakarta, Indonesia) unites two controversial ideas during the Renaissance era: Physical Cosmology as the textual body of work and Religious Cosmology as the visual bodies of work. Physical Cosmology is the scientific study of the origin of the universe and its evolution toward its final form using the laws of science. Originally, Physical cosmology was associated with celestial mechanics, or the study of the heavens, such as, in the 16th century Nicolaus Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, and Galileo Galilei proposed a Universe with the Sun as the center. On the other hand, Religious Cosmology is dwelling upon mythology, religion, and creation. An example of Religious Cosmology is in the Book of Genesis on the creation of Adam and Eve, or Abrahamic traditions such as in Judaism, Christianity, and Islamic belief in a “sudden creation.”

Both physical and religious cosmology contribute to developing strong group identities, which influence many aspects of life (such as social classes and politics.) By putting together two bodies of works, Eddy Susanto expresses controversies that existed at the same time as the Renaissance era. The controversial history aims to address the current situation where religions, races, and nations become part of societal and political identities that separates people through conflicts leading to psychological, economical and physical wars. Through ‘borrowing' or appropriating images of Adam and Eve from the Renaissance era, Eddy tried to represent the Religious Cosmology and re-create it using the text from Sir Thomas Burnet’s book, which represents Physical Cosmology. Thus, the ‘united’ elements from the two controversial bodies of works into single frames.