ARTIST STATEMENT
Within the last two decades, Bandung, once celebrated as "the Paris of Java," has undergone significant transformation due to industrialization and tourism. Originally known for its natural beauty and as the capital of West Java, the city has seen traditional social systems eroded as local farmers have been displaced by factories. These factories, producing plastic goods and textiles, have polluted the environment, leading to health crises and the degradation of local arts and wisdom tied to nature.
My artistic journey began at the Bandung Institute of Technology in 2006, where I shifted from painting to performance art to address pressing environmental issues and engage with broader communities. My work examines the intersections of identity, environment, tradition, and modernity. Early projects utilized ethnographic methods to explore urbanization's impact on local communities, focusing on land-use conflicts and waste management.
A pivotal long-term project, Titik Balik, began in 2014, involving a community of fishermen in Ciburuy, where pollution has devastated local waterways. I collaborated with fishermen to restore an old boat, symbolizing the neglect of their traditional livelihoods. This project evolved into installations and landscape paintings, reflecting on the dynamic relationship between tradition and modernity.Recently, I have been investigating historical narratives in conflicted sites, gathering personal and collective memories about belonging and heritage. This exploration led me to Barus, my parents' ancestral village in North Sumatra, named for the camphor tree, a once-valuable resource now largely forgotten. My projects on Barus, spanning performances, videos, and drawings, delve into the complexities of Indonesian modernity and my family's colonial history.
Through my work, I aim to foster dialogue about environmental degradation and cultural and intergenerational loss, emphasizing the need for a renewed connection to our landscapes and histories.
Within the last two decades, Bandung, once celebrated as "the Paris of Java," has undergone significant transformation due to industrialization and tourism. Originally known for its natural beauty and as the capital of West Java, the city has seen traditional social systems eroded as local farmers have been displaced by factories. These factories, producing plastic goods and textiles, have polluted the environment, leading to health crises and the degradation of local arts and wisdom tied to nature.
My artistic journey began at the Bandung Institute of Technology in 2006, where I shifted from painting to performance art to address pressing environmental issues and engage with broader communities. My work examines the intersections of identity, environment, tradition, and modernity. Early projects utilized ethnographic methods to explore urbanization's impact on local communities, focusing on land-use conflicts and waste management.
A pivotal long-term project, Titik Balik, began in 2014, involving a community of fishermen in Ciburuy, where pollution has devastated local waterways. I collaborated with fishermen to restore an old boat, symbolizing the neglect of their traditional livelihoods. This project evolved into installations and landscape paintings, reflecting on the dynamic relationship between tradition and modernity.Recently, I have been investigating historical narratives in conflicted sites, gathering personal and collective memories about belonging and heritage. This exploration led me to Barus, my parents' ancestral village in North Sumatra, named for the camphor tree, a once-valuable resource now largely forgotten. My projects on Barus, spanning performances, videos, and drawings, delve into the complexities of Indonesian modernity and my family's colonial history.
Through my work, I aim to foster dialogue about environmental degradation and cultural and intergenerational loss, emphasizing the need for a renewed connection to our landscapes and histories.