In Indonesia, Muslim and non-Muslim artists show how visual culture, especially in a post-9/11 environment, is a site of Muslim politics, creativity, and contestation. Indonesian contemporary art constitutes a site where issues associated with Islam are mobilized to come to terms with the present state of the world. Contrary to calligraphy or abstract images – often called ‘Islamic art’ – the work of these artists typically lacks Islamic signs and figures, favouring figurative art. Nor does their work praise Islam, as calligraphy and non-figurative work frequently does. Rather, this form of contemporary art makes references to Islam to articulate political, social, and cultural dissatisfactions with the current state of the world. This art is therefore not called ‘Islamic art,’ but is a form of contemporary art that through its references to Islam or issues related to Islam can be seen as practicing Muslim politics. It is often through tactics such as provocation, parody, self-reflexivity, and humour that critique is expressed and politics are practiced.

These interpretations of art and Islam are part of a global trend. In the past few years, artists and curators worldwide have been exploring a fresh interpretation of contemporary art and Islam that moves away from abstract work. In 2006, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, for example, held a prominent exhibition of artists of Islamic heritage living in the West (Bianpoen 2009).