Wayang kulit shadow puppetry is a performance and show that goes far beyond mere entertainment. Born on the island of Java over 1000 years ago, this ritualised courtly art has a particular significance in traditional Indonesian culture. While its roots trace back to the legendary Indian epics of the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyana, its repertoire has evolved over the centuries in the light of changes in society and contemporary reality.

A performance lasts an entire night and consists of flat puppets, cut from leather, projecting shadows onto a screen – wayang meaning 'shadow' or 'appearance' and kulit, 'skin'. At the centre of the show, the dalang (puppeteer, storyteller, singer and conductor) alternates gravity and humour, laughter and tears, to convey moral and spiritual values to the audience. A highly respected figure, they are the intermediary between men and the gods.

Through a selection of exceptional antique puppets, the exhibition offers keys to understanding the shadow puppetry of the Indonesian archipelago. This gallery of leather portraits features the iconography and stories of the heroes Rama and Arjuna, as well as the clown Semar. The presentation includes interviews with two dalang and contemporary artist Heri Dono, proof if proof were needed that this age-old art never ceases to reinvent itself.