Cotton, batik wax, natural dye;

3 pieces of 90x150 cm

2023

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Tubuh (translated as The Body) is a series of drawings on cotton fabric depicting the stages of the opening of a woman's body using the mayang jambe plant as a symbol. There are two words in the Indonesian language that can be directly translated into "body". However, "tubuh" refers to the body as a whole, external, internal, mental and spiritual.

 

Mayang jambe is Sundanese (my tribe) for areca palm flower. This flower is commonly used to symbolise women in a pre-wedding ceremony called ngeyeuk sereuh. Mayang jambe is believed to resemble a virgin woman, poise and soft-hearted, that needs to be treated with love and warmth.

 

In ngeyeuk sereuh, the man (the woman's partner) usually tears open the mayang jambe. However, in my previous performance titled Jangjawokan dan Mayang Jambe (A Tale of A Sundanese Woman), I took the mayang jambe and tore it up myself. Through this action, I intended to claim my body's agency firmly.

 

Tubuh #1 writing translation:

The body of a woman is completely hers. A whole knowledge of the body, a whole woman.;

Tubuh #2 writing translation:

The decision of a woman's body is entirely in her hands. A whole knowledge of the body, a whole woman.;

Tubuh #3 writing translation:

A woman's self-worth is entirely up to her. A whole knowledge of the body, a whole woman.

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Exhibited at:

MA Postgraduate Art Show 2023

28 June - 2 July 2023

Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, London

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(Un)done

13 October - 12 November 2023

Hypha Gallery East Village/Stratford

London