My artistic work began with an ache – an absence shaped by distance and the subtle weight of diaspora. Living away from home, I felt an underlying urge to adapt, blend, and reshape myself to fit in. Yet, through this endless remoulding, I began to lose my edges, my sense of self dissolving to the point where it felt fragmented and unfamiliar. This feeling of separation, of my identity drifting between worlds, became the heart of my work.
In time, this practice evolved from loss to a journey of reclamation. I began to dig through the echoes of my heritage, rediscovering what it meant to be Javanese, Indonesian, and authentically myself. Each artwork became a modest act of memory, a way of re-stitching the cultural fabric that had frayed. Living in a foreign land, this return to my heritage feels urgent – as if I’m reaching for the core of who I am and where I came from, before it slips away.
Now, my work serves as the footprint of my journey – from losing myself in the shifting tides of diasporic identity, to rediscovering and relearning the roots of both maternal and paternal cultural lines. Each piece traces the path I’ve walked, a visual testament to the complexities of finding my way back, whilst also documenting aspects of the present in my homeland. The works capture the moments of disconnection and the quiet revelations that have brought me closer to my heritage, as I piece together the fragments of my identity and make sense of the cultures I grew up with.