Indonesians in Focus: Kusnodin

By Barrie | October 14th, 2007 | No Comments

Some people are suspicious of free enterprise and even afraid to compete with people from other countries, but not Kusnodin, a villager who lives west of Borobudur temple in Central Java. He says he is growing impatient waiting for free trade to come because he is sure that he can easily play a role in the global market.

Kusnodin, 45, a resident of Ngadirejo village, Salaman, Magelang, is not joking.

“If free trade comes into force, I am sure I can compete and hopefully I will be successful,” said the man, who is a junior high school graduate.

Kusnodin has every reason to be optimistic because his artworks, which are made from used cans, sell extremely well. Most of his customers are tourists.

“I would have had signed a contract worth Rp 2 billion (US$220,000) with Australian buyers on May 30, 2006, but three days earlier, Yogyakarta was hit by an earthquake and the contract was canceled altogether. The same thing happened at the time of the Bali bombings in 2002. My business almost folded because of that (Bali bombings),” he said.

Kusnodin works with humble materials like drink cans and biscuit tins. He cuts the aluminum into small pieces and welds them together into one-of-a-kind works. But most people regard his work not as fine art but as interesting handicrafts.

At first glance his sculptures look alive. A 90-centimeter tall peacock, for example, has soft feathers around its long neck, while its outstretched wings shine in a blaze of color. Each of its feathers has a white ring with a blue dot, just like the real ones.

Even though Kasnodin makes his works from disposable materials, he has no shortage of customers. Had it not been for the 1998 economic crisis, the Bali bombings and the 2006 earthquake, Kusnodin’s business would be flourishing.

“Before the earthquake in May 2006, I had six permanent employees and 90 contract workers. The turnover was at least Rp 50 million a month. But now business is quite slow, there are not many tourists visiting Yogyakarta, which means I can’t sell my products,” said Kusnodin, who won the creativity competition held by the National Handicrafts Council in 2006.

Among his works, it is the peacock that has become the favorite of buyers from Australia, the U.S. and Europe. They are available in various sizes. The smallest one, 20 x 30 centimers, is priced at Rp 150,000 while the largest one, 85 x 90 cm, costs Rp 1.4 million.

Kusnodin started in the used can business in 1978. At that time he was a public transportation driver in the area of Borobudur temple. One day he noticed rats had gnawed a hole in the tool kit he kept in the back of the minibus. He cut three pieces of metal from a biscuit can and used it to cover the hole. While he was waiting for passengers he played with the remaining scraps of metal, twisting them into forms. When he went home he stuck the pieces to a shell painting that took pride of place in his living room.

“It looked nice. The peacock made of shells that I bought in Pangandaran beach in West Java looked more beautiful and interesting. After that I tried to make a peacock entirely out of used cans,” Kusnodin said.

He cuts the scrap metal and twists each piece three times to make a feather. The feathers are then placed around the body of the bird, which is made from acacia wood, until it is completely covered.

To make a peacock measuring 20 by 30 cm, Kusnodin needs about 25 oil cans. If he works alone, it takes him two weeks to complete a bird. But to save time and money, each part of the bird is made by a different person so that Kusnodin only arranges the pieces.
He first displayed his work at the town hall in 1978. It attracted the attention of the Magelang Regent, who gave him Rp 500,000 as capital.

A year later he took part in an exhibition at Borobudur Temple, which was held to mark the completion of the temple’s restoration. Then president Soeharto and tourism minister Joop Ave, who attended the event, praised the work.

“I only had six pieces of my work with me. Pak Joop Ave bought all of them for Rp 600,000. That boosted my confidence and since then I have kept producing artwork from used cans,” Kusnodin said.

Joop Ave continued to support Kusnodin. In 1990 Kusnodin was invited to hold a solo exhibition at the former Hotel Hilton (now Sultan Hotel) in Jakarta for four days. The exhibition sold out and he was flooded with orders. The marketing was handled by an agent in Yogyakarta.

“From this business, I have been able to buy land and a house, two cars and provide jobs for dozens of people. But now the tourism industry is struggling and there are not many buyers.

“So, I am pinning my hopes on free trade. If it is implemented, there will be low tax and export fees so that I can market my products easily. I am sure my works will be well received by people in other countries, because they care more about recycling,” he said.

Tarko Sudiarno