My Homeland #01 (TanahAirku #01)

b. 1971, Malaysian Borneo; Based in Kota Kinabalu

For various communities all over the Nusantara (maritime Southeast Asia), the tikar, a woven mat, is full of significance: an ordinary household item that is a site for a range of communal activities, from chatting to gathering, communal food preparing and sleeping. It is even used as a makeshift stage for performing. When she first moved back to her 'tanah air' (homeland) of Sabah, after 20 years of living and working in Kuala Lumpur, the artist needed to find her 'tikar', her community, again. In KL, her practice mainly revolved around photo-media based works, but since returning to Sabah her works have turned towards tikar-weaving, a craft that involves community engagement and work-sharing.