Exhibition View: Pekan Kebudayaan Nasional, Jakarta

Berlayar Mendengar, Melabuh Bertumbuh

Installation, Book, Photo, Film, Costume, and Performance

Variable Dimensions

2023

Collective works with MES 56

This project is an effort to archive and document knowledge through the memories of the residents of Pulau Panggang Village in the Thousand Islands. For around 21 days, we worked together with the residents to uncover stories about the history and myths that circulate in the community. These stories are part of their daily lives and still become an important foundation of the Pulo people’s culture today.

Like in many regions in Indonesia, spirituality is deeply rooted in everyday life. In Pulau Panggang, traditional beliefs can coexist with Islamic values, and together they shape how the Pulo people sustain and develop their way of living alongside local values.

As an artistic strategy to share this knowledge, we presented different forms of work produced in collaboration with the residents, including pilgrimages, interviews, and workshops in photography and video. The workshops were held over several days, where participants used digital cameras to explore the village. Through this process, they gathered information and became more aware of local potential, as well as the importance of using a historical approach to think about the future.

The results from these workshops were then combined with other works, such as historical tours exploring sites and relics in Pulau Panggang Village. This tour also offers an alternative idea of tourism that can be managed by local guides, supported by the “Sejarah Kelurahan Pulau Panggang” pocket book.

In another form, we also archived the voices and everyday moments of the Pulo people into a short documentary film that reflects on their daily life. Alongside that, we created an installation that presents an alternative route for historical tourism, completed with a soundscape made from recordings collected in Pulau Panggang Village.