Someone’s Backyard
2023
150 x 200 cm
Acrylic and pen ink on canvas

Growing up in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, the artist is no stranger to natural disasters, having experienced the 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake firsthand at the age of 5 and later the panic of 2010 Mount Merapi eruption -- the events subsequently ingrained in their mind. This work is meant to depict the way such disasters have become more or less an expected occurrence in the lives of some people, based merely on their place of birth or residence. And yet, solace comes in knowing that on the Ring of Fire, even though disaster may come, so does fertility upon the land. Lives carry on, and it does not stop its people from calling this place their home.

The large hand sparking a fire descending from the cloud of smoke is a visual representation of a volcano, but also a force that is not ours to control. The hot plume of smoke is stylized in the way a child's vision may register it, a callback to how young people can be when they start being aware of disasters in their lives, and how memories can become suppressed or distorted. Meanwhile, the standing green figure represents the hope for continuous vitality and perseverance.

(Description may be subject to change.)