The Cosmic Tortoise & Naga Dream

Another adventure in Indonesia!

Hi friends and family,

A little note from me :) It’s been a while since my last update. I hope you are all keeping well. Sending you love, health, and happiness…

I am very, very happy to share with you that I am back in Indonesia! I am here on a self-organized residency simply because... I couldn’t get enough of Yogyakarta :). I am back, working with some of the brilliant people who engineered my artworks last year, and together we’ve developed two new artworks in just under two months!

These new artworks are on show for the week at the Indonesian Visual Art Archive (until Friday the 26th), and I will be there on Wednesday, the 24th of July, from 3-5pm to perform a lecture, delving deeper into the inspiration and narratives of the works.

The Cosmic Tortoise (Kura-kura Kosmik) is one of the new works we’ve developed. It is a mechanically moving teak wooden tortoise with a Khmer scripted leporello book inside!

Click below to see what it sounds and looks like!

This work is inspired by the Khmer chanted leporello books (kraing, traditionally for “thor bot” ធម៌បទ and “smot” ស្មូត្រ) and similarly shaped books called Pustaha from the Batak tribes in North Sumatra.

The Naga Dream (Mimpi Naga) is another artwork we’ve created. You cannot tell from this view, but the three-headed banana leaf nagas are looking over a sleeping ceramic baby, cat, and bird, covered with roses.

If you are near, please feel very welcome to join our public event on Wednesday, the 24th of July, 2024, from 3-5pm. The works are on show until Friday, the 26th of July, 2024, from 10am-5pm. For more information about the event, show and residency, please click here. I can’t wait to show the works to you!

I plan to share the documentation, videos, and texts (like the translation of the Tortoise’s manuscript) soon on my website and Instagram. Keep an eye on them for updates…

I feel extremely lucky to have had the opportunity, privilege, and freedom to travel to Asia again. I am deeply indebted to the team members of my residency at MenH Studio and my brilliant collaborators Ragil, Kak Ros and Yoga for believing in my crazy ideas and making them into reality. I am planning on bringing my works back to the West and hope to show them to you in Rotterdam or elsewhere! Thank you so much, terima kasih banyak, matur nuwun & អរគុណ​ច្រើន.

With love, Sam