Rematriation of Our Land: A Ritual of Weaving Ancestral Knowledge

“Rematriation of Our Land: A Ritual of Weaving Ancestral Knowledge” is an immersive installation of an artistic research in continuation from an upcoming graduation project which involves a film and a tapestry to visualize the urgency to connect with other living bodies (human and non-human) to reimagine a more compassionate relationship with each other and Mother Earth. Rooted in the traditional Javanese belief of ‘Kejawen’, which emphasizes respecting our Mother Land, and research from Indigenous communities in Indonesia reveals various practices, including ‘Gotong Royong’ and ‘Lumbung’, to underscore the notion of working together to show our collective gratitude and care for Mother Earth. Each gesture is intertwined, resembling a woven tapestry that creates a single, unified gesture of reciprocating gratitude. The project involves analog printing methods such as cyanotype and silkscreen to rethink materials as collaborators or partners and involve them as part of my research towards a more regenerative artistic process. I aim to reach out to other practitioners in various fields, especially farmers, as they have an influential role within my family’s ancestral background, to relearn certain practices and find ways to connect to other human and non-human bodies from different backgrounds to find a common thread.