Life and All Its Friends
Life and All Its Friends was an installation I created for the group exhibition "URUP" at Uma Seminyak, Bali in 2022. The title URUP comes from the Javanese philosophy Urip Iku Urup, which translates to “life is a flame,” or the idea that to live is to become a source of light for oneself and for others.
The installation brought together functional objects and sculptural elements that were periodically rearranged, allowing the work to breathe and reveal itself differently over time, much like life itself. Each sculpture helds its own narrative and title. Immune Booster depicts three ceramic figures happily singing with made-up mic and guitar in the form of giant syringe emblazoned with words such as wisdom, positivity and peace. Trouble is a Friend tells a different story, showing two figures playing with their pet snakes without worry. These snake characters—meant to symbolise challenges—also appear in Can't Get You Out of My Head.
Next came the bowl-shaped individual figures Gone Peacing, Gone Pissing, and Life and All Its Friends, each capturing the the ups and down of everyday life.To give contrast to the rough and sturdy expression of the ceramic figures, the installation offered balance through the use of live plants and scattered perishable unfired-clay objects depicting elements of everyday life like animals, symbols of modern living such as money, and even the unknown, expressed through bone-like forms representing death.
Together, these works formed a constellation of stories, reflecting on grief and loss, topics that became especially magnified during the pandemic.