Beeld van een zittende godin (Prajñaparamita), Oost-Java 1822

This is Adrianus Johannes Bik’s rendition of a sculpture, ‘Beeld van een zittende godin (Prajñaparamita)’ – Image of a sitting goddess (Prajñaparamita). It shows a goddess seated in meditative posture, a subject typical of the East Java region where it was found. Bik's drawing captures the texture and form of the original stone carving. Its making involves precise tools and considerable labor in extraction, carving, and the delicate rendering of details like the goddess's jewelry. But let's not forget Bik's labor; the graphite pencil and paper – relatively accessible materials due to industrial manufacturing – also speaks volumes. Consider the sharp contrast between the meticulous, time-intensive craft traditions of Javanese sculpture, and the mass-produced materials used in its documentation by Bik. It is a meditation on the contrast between the unique handmade object, and its serial reproduction, which makes this a poignant commentary on the changing landscape of art, labor and the rise of capitalism.