Making Friends with the Octopus - How To Pin Down Smoke - Ruangrupa since 2000

One of the first critical studies of the work of the artist collective ruangrupa (ruru) that examines two decades of their artistic and curatorial practice. Internationally known for their involvement in documenta 15 in Kassel, ruangrupa's histories as an artist collective back home were rarely critically studied. Making Friends with the Octopus offers a discursive account of the two decades of ruru's practice which evolved in response to local Jakarta conditions and the diverse networks and economies operating in the city. The group's practice inherited elements of youth culture and popular aesthetics, celebration, publishing, research and archiving, offered hints to the collaborative and funding networks in the region and the souths, and encompassed their lived experiences in Jakarta.