the images are how i track my works in progress. It is the evolution of my work.
This is the artist statement I turned in for Voices of Freedom exhibit:
Indonesia, my birthplace, is a land colonized by the Dutch for 350+ years. The Chinese people have lived in the archipelago for hundreds of years before the arrival of the Dutch without conflicts with the local indigenous groups in what is now Indonesia. When the Dutch arrived in the 1600s, they used a tactic to divide the population and pit them against each other, and gain control and rule. After World War II in 1945, Indonesia declared independence, forcing the Dutch to leave in 1949.
However the effects of colonization remain in the psyche of people, causing tension, discrimination, and violence amongst the indigenous and ethnic Chinese people to this day. Even when the colonizers are no longer present, and even if they’ve issued an apology, the people have a long way to go towards healing.
The image of We Are Not Your Enemy is based on an old family photo of my mom’s cousins and uncle. The words “We Are Not Your Enemy” overlay the image. This quilt is about finding commonality in our humanity, and refusing to “other” our own neighbors.
Background: I began thinking seriously about this work after attending the exhibit, Born a Problem by Paula Te and Edward Gunawan in early May 2024. Accompanying the exhibit were several events including an artist talk with Paula Te, Edward Gunawan and sound artist Colin Sullivan, a panel discussion by Dr. Jessica Elkin, Reuven Pinnata, Vincent Bevins, and Dr. Viola Lasmana, and a poetry reading by all Chinese Indonesian poets Cynthia Dewi Oka, Edward Gunawan, Giovanna Lomanto, Jeddie Sophronius, and May-Li Khoe. Vincent Bevins is the author of The Jakarta Method and If We Burn. I admit that I rolled my eyes when white people are introduced as the experts to Indonesian _____. I think it’s from my days of being in gamelan groups in the US and how annoying and condescending it was to be lectured by white people about our own culture and tell us what is or isn’t authentic. ANYWAY, it turned out that Vincent Bevins is legit and despite my own misgiving, this was someone who was able to write a book about the US government’s role in ushering Suharto’s 30+ year dictatorship. Others who tried to write about the coup d’etat in 1965 were given death threats, and those who would have written the book if their lives weren’t threatened gave Bevins their blessings to write one, not just to expose the crimes of their own people to their own people but also bc it’s Bevins’ (and mine now) own government who were behind the schemes.
However, there was something that didn’t sit right with me. I wanted to go further back. And I settled on the Dutch colonization as a major turning point. The divisiveness between indigenous and Chinese Indonesians didn’t start in 1965. It started much earlier, when the Dutch colonized the land for 350+ years, which is generations. When Indonesia declared Independence in 1945, causing the Dutch to completely retreat in 1949, the effects of colonization, the consequences of divide and rule tactic of the Dutch remained, and still we have to remind each other, we are not your enemy.
I will respond that our enemy is colonialism, capitalism, white supremacy, and patriarchy. To uphold these systems we must overlook our own humanity, and recognizing humanity in our neighbors. And my voice to say these things ironically exist here in the US and not in Indonesia where it matters most.
The fabric I chose for the words is purposefully transparent, because, like all the effects of the systems like colonialism, capitalism, etc, they are subtle, not obvious, but they remain present.
Process: Originally my concept was just words, “We are not your enemy; You are not my enemy” in both English and Indonesian, but then I chickened out and was nervous about writing just words and settled on my more comfortable space: images. I think I kinda forgot the second half, and just settled on “We are not your enemy” I finally settled, sketched out, began piecing together in late July and worked continuously after work til 2 am in August and more intensely in September. I brought up the work in progress image to some friends, and told them my plan to write those words, which was met by push back about putting those words over the faces. Somehow it made me more determined to write those words over their faces because it was important to show that yes, these are the effects of colonialism. We can’t shy away from the truth. There were points where I got obsessive about some parts of the work, I think I was apprehensive about putting those words over their faces/ figures.
The deadline to turn them in for installation was on Oct 1. At the same time, my friend Larissa invited me to go with her on her companion flight pass, and spend time with her family in Hawaii and how was I supposed to turn down that invitation. So I took time off from work, and allotted myself 6 full days, after I had our fieldwork out of the way, to finish the quilt. I didn’t sleep at all on Sept 30 and when morning came and I only pinned down the last few things and brought the unfinished quilt to my artist friend Ellen, who convinced me that I should take it with me to Hawaii to finish. I’m so grateful for that advice because it took me hours in Hawaii to work on it. I didn’t even finish it. When I returned on Oct 5, I stayed up all night trying to finish it and at 10:20 am on Oct 6, I stopped for good to shower. Then drove it to the gallery in time for the reception at 2 pm that day! I’m so grateful for InnerEye Art team, to Pallavi Sharma for trusting me to make the work in time.