COMMUNITY OF COEXISTENCE
Reconnection Through Movement with Arahmaiani

As we watch our earth slowly heat up and our societies crumble at the foundation, it is through human connection that we are to repair our homes and communities. Through audience-based performance art, Arahmaiani Feisal conveys lessons about cultural heritage and the division between self and selflessness. By connecting with onlookers of all backgrounds, her performances create a common meeting ground centered on artistic exploration and understanding, where preconceived notions of society and the individual’s purpose of existence are temporarily tossed away.

Reviving ancient wisdom from her ancestral heritage, Arahmaiani strives to produce creative solutions to contemporary issues through her art. Hailed as the first South Asian performance artist, Arahmaiani champions knowledge from temporally distant monasteries about life and our purpose on this earth as solutions to modern era problems. She emphasizes the plague of the predominating capitalistic society and our overindulgent relationship with the environment. Arahmaiani draws hope from her ancestral teachings and through her work seeks to inspire future generations to lead towards a sustainable, harmonious future.

[Zoë Levit] Could you describe your education and how you came to be an artist? As an Asian American woman who has occupied predominantly white spaces throughout my whole life, I often feel that silence and diminishing myself is a personal act of self-preservation. Have you faced any prejudice being an Indonesian woman studying in a western country, and has that influenced your work? How has your experience of studying and working abroad changed over time?

[Arahmaiani] I understand because I spend a lot of time in western countries. I used to study in the Netherlands, and I’m teaching in Germany at Passau University, but I’ve also traveled around doing my work, here and there. Although I was not born in a western country, when I’m there and specifically during my study time in the Netherlands and when I got stranded in Australia in the 80s or 90s—which was very different from today—I had that experience of how some people discriminated against me because of the color of my skin. They didn’t know me, but they treated me like something marginal. Then, I was also very expressive. Usually, I reacted and got angry. I did a lot of fighting when I was young, especially because I was young and full of energy. Now, getting older, I might be wiser, and not react if not necessary. Anyway, it made me aware of what was going on. I mean, Indonesia was colonized for a long time, by the Netherlands, especially the Dutch, the British, French, Spain, and Japan- it was a time of trauma. When I learned about what is going on in the world today with the capitalistic economic system and how it is operating, especially how it is controlled by the small group of people who have a huge capital, and the way people in this world are being treated, it’s almost like colonization is happening again. If you’ve heard of the term neo-colonization, this is our truth. Of course, they will deny it. I’ve been working with marginalized groups and communities and I’ve seen it with my own eyes, you know? How is this unfair system being implemented? Discrimination is still going on. I mean the movement in the United States, after the COVID Pandemic started, with the Black Lives Matter movement shows that this is real. They ask why colored people act like that, but there’s a reason behind it. This is part of my struggle, even though I am Indonesian and based in Indonesia, I move around places and in western countries, teaching, and having activities there, so I’ve had to deal with this kind of problem directly.

[ZL] You highlighted a very real power dynamic, especially in Western countries, and for nearly three years now, our societies and communities have grappled with the public health, social, and political disparities and shortfallings that the pandemic has exposed. Here in America, we are finally noticing the healthcare inequalities and deeply rooted racism that our country was founded on. I wanted to know how has COVID influenced your perspective on life, the societies and communities that you are part of, and ultimately your art.

[A] There are terrible stories from the pandemic situation because it’s bringing lots of problems, especially people with little support either from their government or companies, for example, they suffer so much. There are a lot of people in this kind of situation in my country. There is no protection. And that’s sad. But also, I understand that the pandemic problem is caused by human behavior- irresponsible human behavior that somehow destroyed nature, and this is nature’s reaction to what humans are doing. It also has to do with the capitalistic economic system, because it is just about making a profit. They don’t care if nature is destroyed or marginalized groups, they don’t care. That’s the reality, right? Now, with this pandemic, it is a sign to change if we all want to survive, allowing future generations a secure and good future. So, we have to change our way of thinking and the system, because it is marginalizing other people and seeing nature as an object. The way I see it, there’s a good side to it. This is momentum for human beings to become creative and to find innovative and creative solutions to the problems they have to deal with today.

[ZL] Artistic expression has always been difficult for me. During COVID I developed a hobby for ceramics and hand-building sculptures, however before that my main form of self-expression was through music. I have read and observed in The Past Has Not Passed: Breaking Words, Shadows of The Past, and I Don’t Want to Be Part of Your Legend, that you focus on performance art as your method of expression and communication. In your opinion, how does performance art differ from mediums such as painting, sculpture, photography, etc?

[A] When I was a kid I learned to dance, I joined traditional theater, and I loved it. I went to the art school in 1979, and there I went to the painting department to learn about painting, but then I realized from time to time that my urge and need to express myself is very strong. So then, I was lucky to meet some friends who had similar kinds of needs, and we created a group: “Let’s do some kind of experimental expression.” Because we were already in modern art school, we learned about modern art expression and contemporary expression. At that time I was like, “wow, wow, what is this?” This opened the possibility for us to explore, you know, and use our bodies. Because, at this time, if you painted you had to buy the materials and in my country, it is not cheap. I was like, “Let’s find another way of expressing ourselves.” Anyway, that is how I began to explore the possibility of expressing myself through performance art. And at that time, I didn’t know it was called performance art, I just wanted to creatively express myself. But then later, after some years, after some people did some research, they saw me as the pioneer of performance art in Southeast Asia. This is an incredible medium for me, and how I’ve experienced it so far. It’s open for us to explore our creativity and implement an interdisciplinary approach, there are no limits! It’s like free space, open for us to explore, explore, explore and find a new way. I mean, a new and creative way. It’s incredible. It’s really fascinating. And this is almost a spiritual demand or fulfillment for me, you can be honest and be yourself, expressing whatever you want to express. Although, maybe there are some negative reactions sometimes. Maybe people don’t like it or have a different interpretation or understanding because they are coming from a different background or whatever knowledge or philosophy they have. But that is a normal thing in life. And this gives an input to us to learn about others, right? That’s what I experienced, anyway. That’s why I am so happy and love doing performances even today.

[ZL] Could you expand on your artistic performance "The Past Has Not Passed: Breaking Words." How did engaging the audience influence the performance?

[A] Yes, this is participatory performance work. This is actually fun because I’ve learned a lot from other people and the audience. It’s not just me having a space to express myself, and people just receive my art as whatever I’m expressing. In this kind of engagement, I think it’s very creative because the audience and I can stimulate each other creatively. And this is not only fun but is also important. It’s like meeting people on an equal level, in a modern art system. Also, because this is related to the capitalistic system, the artist is becoming the center of everything, and then the artist can say anything they want to say. Even sometimes egotistically and selfishly, it’s allowed, but after doing that for a while, I started questioning myself, like, “is this modern, or so-called contemporary art, actually a space for someone to become egoistic and selfish?” I don’t really believe that. This is why I explore this possibility. How can we be fair and happy together when we just focus on ourselves all the time? And maybe this is because of this modern lifestyle system, which is very individualistic and competitive, but, since I have tried to understand and even criticize capitalism, of course then I understood and realized that something needs to be questioned with this lifestyle that is individualistic and competitive. For what? Why do we have to do this? Why can’t we live together on this earth, happily together, and take care of each other? Exploiting others for your own benefit? That’s not nice- that’s not right.

[ZL] I was wondering if we could talk about “the idea of the past.” I believe that the very core of ourselves is an accumulation of every past moment. How has your past impacted who you are today? I especially wanted to ask how growing up in Bandung impacted your work and practice. Has it changed over time?

[A] Yes, the past of course has lots of meaning and maybe has different meanings for each person. But for me, this idea about dealing with the past is actually us trying to understand the history of where we come from. And of course, it relates to the understanding of culture and sociopolitical dynamics through time. When I went to the art school in Bandung, even in art school, the subject of history and the past is very limited because they don't see it as something important. They see it as “Ah, that’s old-fashioned, we don’t really need to learn that, we need to learn about what is in today, which is science, technology, and how we can keep up with this system- the modern system.” But for me, because maybe I come from a background of a family that still knows the past cultural heritage, I was then wondering why is this past cultural heritage not considered important. I had learned philosophy from my grandpa, which sounded really wise and very human. I started to study it because I couldn’t expect this from school. So, I just explored myself. At the time, in 1983, I had to go to Sydney, Australia because I was kicked out of art school as I was arrested by the military. There was a terrible dictatorship in Indonesia at the time, that’s why even in the Art School, the idea of culture wasn’t considered important. I was in trouble because I was doing some performance work outdoors and questioning the meaning of independence, because once I learned about the situation I started questioning: are we really independent? because even then, we are still under the control of the capitalistic system, which is under the control of a small group of people. Is this really freedom? Are we not still under colonization? Luckily, they released me under lots of conditions, and I was kicked out of art school. I went to Sydney because I had some friends there. They were like “Okay, why don’t you come here?” and I was like “Oh, no no no, it’s too expensive” but they were like “ But you can also work while you are studying here” Then I met a group of hippies, and it was so interesting because they got to learn that I come from Indonesia. They exclaimed, “wow, your culture is so interesting” and I asked,  “how come?” They responded,  “well, you’re a foreigner, you appreciate your ancestral culture.” But you know, that’s the hippy kind of group or movement and intention. To learn about this so-called “local wisdom.” So I’m lucky because they had a library and I could have the access to read books about my cultural heritage. And then the group that I met, that also brought up this awareness and knowledge, is the so-called Punk Rockers group. They are coming from England, and they are sent by their government, they are being given air tickets and some money, and basically, the British government kicked them out because they were making trouble from time to time because they were very critical of this global economic system. And I was so lucky to have met them, so I could learn a lot from both sides, because when I decided to go back I began to understand more about what is actually going on in Indonesia, my country, with this cultural forgotten heritage. This is very important because when people don’t know their cultural history they don’t know who they are. And then they suffer this so-called identity crisis. And this can be easily manipulated by those that have an agenda to control whoever. They could be politicians or corporations. So this is the beginning of my awareness, and combining it with performance art, it’s a perfect medium to express it. But you know, I do it also with installations, videos, or mixed media.

[ZL] You touched on a lot of great topics, and I wish I could talk about them all. As an archeologist and anthropologist, I find immense value in glancing at our past to guide our future. For example, I am currently studying indigenous land management and learning about the native symbiotic relationship between people and land, in hopes of applying that knowledge to sustainability and stewardship efforts. In your solo exhibit at the Tyler Rollins Fine Art gallery, "Shadow of The Past," you describe a "relationship in ancient times between Tibetan Buddhism and local Buddhism in what is now Indonesia." Could you expand on this relationship and explain how or if it has transformed contemporary culture?

[A] After I returned from Australia, I began to obsessively study this cultural heritage. And it’s not easy, because there is limited information about it if you just go into a public library, for example. It's not easy to find these kinds of things. So then I had to go talk to older people who had this knowledge and do research at an ancient temple, that is already forgotten by some, to see it myself. I met some old people who still know, so I somehow got information from them, which is very lucky. And then in 2010, somehow, I was stranded in Tibet because of this work with the Museum of Contemporary Art in Shanghai. They selected my work for a group exhibition of Indonesian artists, a community-based kind of art project. At the time, in China, there was no such practice because they were not allowed to do that since everything was controlled by the central government. Anyway, this somehow brought me to Tibet, and when I met the leader of the monastery, the Llama there, he was like “Oh, you’re coming from Indonesia, wow! So nice. Our heritage of culture in the monastery is coming from your country.” “Oh my god, I didn’t know that!” and the Llama asked, “What! You don’t know?” That was the beginning of my enthusiasm for learning again about this forgotten cultural heritage. It is forgotten, if we’re talking about the past, because of the manipulation for the sake of power and money, by the locals and the colonialists. For example, the Netherlands has this repatriation program where they are returning artifacts or manuscripts that have been looted, but, despite starting in the 80s, they still have more than 10,000 artifacts and hundreds of thousands of manuscripts still there. So you can see how people lost their knowledge of the past. When I got to learn about this in Tibet, I was amazed because the culture and civilization were really sophisticated, really human, and understood nature in a good way. They saw humans as part of nature, not as the owner, and nature is seen as an object that you can exploit as you like. This so-called local wisdom was very civilized and had very important knowledge about nature and our relationship to it, and how we are supposed to wisely live together. This kind of wisdom really expanded my perspective and awareness about our role in life. If you were really serious, you would ask “what is the purpose of this life” and “do we have to destroy others, is that our right?” But then, when you understand the principle of what I mentioned earlier, then we understand that we have tasks in this life and we need to think about the future generations, so they can live happily and securely. But when you become egoistic and selfish, what is going to happen- how can we have this ability to reflect? That was already being understood in the past culture of my ancestors. That's why I really appreciate it, that's why I brought it up in my work- to remind myself and others about this knowledge. But, of course, science and technology and knowledge are important but don’t forget to connect it to wisdom, not just the technical aspect of profit, which makes people destroy nature and fight with each other. This kind of attitude has made us destroy our own homes. That is stupid! Right? Destroying nature is actually destroying our own home! So, now let's be aware. And this technique in ancient culture focuses on how we can keep our awareness, using meditation and focusing on connecting and understanding others. So, they already dug into this kind of knowledge. But now in the modern system, we are orienting more toward materialism and individualism, so the spiritual aspect is really seen as unimportant. You will be seen as successful when you make a profit, even if you are doing something horrible to nature and others. That is crazy. That is not right.

 I wanted to add a little bit of information if that is okay. Actually, in the old-time, during the 8th century, there was this monastery that actually started in the 7th century in Indonesia on Sumatra island, there was this monastery that was very respected and is considered to be the largest in Southeast Asia, and also the continuation of the first Buddhist monastery in India called Nalanda Monastery. So, because of that, there are a lot of monks from India and China coming to study here. This one monk called Atisha Dipankara Srijnana is actually a prince who became a monk. He came to study here for about 12 years from the local master called Dharmakirti. Then after that, he went back to India for a while and then went to Tibet. In Tibet, he founded the Temple School, which is the origin of the Kadampa school, which was directed by the Dalai Lama. It is amazing because they are still learning and practicing today. I’m so happy and I’m so thankful to my Lama friends and monk friends for allowing me to learn, again, about it and even practice it.

[ZL] “Shadow of The Past” explores spirituality, cultural syncretism, our relationship with the natural world, and the role of femininity within a religious tradition. To complete this project, I understand that you spent time in Tibet and maintained an open approach to understanding the local culture. It seems similar to how an anthropologist might conduct field research. Could you expand on your interactions with the local people and environments? Were you openly greeted or met with hesitance and skepticism? Did engaging with a new culture enlighten you about your own?

[A] Maybe some people think that if you’re interacting with your own people then maybe it's easier and simpler. With foreigners, maybe it's more difficult. From my experience, my communication and my work with the monks and community people is quite easy. It's easier than working with Indonesians. It’s amazing, right? I realized that these people are still actually practicing these cultural habitats coming from Indonesia or my ancestors, and I had some knowledge about this, so we could easily connect and communicate with each other. For example, in Indonesia, the majority of the population is becoming Muslim and lots of people lost their knowledge of their cultural roots, so sometimes it's very difficult to communicate with them. I also have been learning about Islam, because I’m supposed to be Muslim too, but you know with this Hardliners Islamist Movement- and this is not a movement because people want to find their own way, it has to do also with this political strategy of a certain group of people because they could create “Divide and Rule” politics. This is happening in lots of Islamic countries, they’re being destroyed. Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, now Yemen- if you really understand what is really going on, this is based on scenarios, not just stupidity. And this is not, if you learned about history, this kind of strategy has been implemented almost always, all the time. This is how people with this agenda of power and controlling others, is the most effective strategy because then people are just fighting with each other, and then if you are on the side of the agenda this is the easier way to have access to resources and wealth. This is still ongoing today. So, that's why I thank my ancestors, too, for the knowledge they had reserved. Like the Borobudur temple, maybe you’ve heard, this is the largest Buddhist temple in Java. Maybe you have seen the images, too, where there are a lot of pictures, and reliefs, they are actually teachings, not just stories. Borobudur is to preserve knowledge. Books would not survive in a tropical country, that is why my ancestors put them in stone. I was lucky to be stranded in Tibet, then I found this knowledge still complete and even being practiced. But you know, I have to tell you honestly, lots of Indonesians today have forgotten it. They don’t understand it anymore, which is of course very sad- but I understand why. As I have explained, that has to do with the manipulation of people using a power agenda or a profit agenda.

[ZL] In the Asian Art Museum’s After Hope exhibit, your 2004 piece “I Don’t Want to Be Part of Your Legend” was included. As an anthropology student, I always find great importance in ancient texts and myths to inform us about the values of a culture. When watching “I Don’t Want to Be Part of Your Legend,” I felt transported by the shadows and rhythmic vocals to another realm. The phrase “Is there another possibility for me so that I don’t need to bear the entire burden of a person who must be under suspicion?” struck me deeply, as I feel that the reality of existence is partially mistrust. I understood it as man and a mythical being conversing, or bargaining, before entering the earth. However, is there a specific message that you were trying to convey to the audience?

[A] Well, this statement actually relates to the prosecution of those who are being marginalized. Of course, women, but after doing research I realized that in this political system, this capitalistic system, those being marginalized are not only women but also indigenous groups, and those who are considered small. This kind of marginalization will deflect into an untrusting attitude. Because you are considered small and you don’t know anything about anything. Then you are easily suspected, and because they have this idea that you are incapable they begin to see you as something dangerous because you are not capable of adapting yourself to the system. They think if you steal you will commit crimes, this is the real situation. For example, colored people in rich western countries are discriminated against and are often seen as people who have the intention to commit crimes. They see us as small and incapable of doing things, which is untrue. But being bad can happen to any color and any group of people, it depends on their upbringing and way of life. But still, with this kind of superiority and discrimination from a certain group of people, say the western or white people, this creates terrible situations and people do not see the reality of life itself, and this creates lots of problems- unnecessary problems. If people had this awareness and wisdom in understanding life, we wouldn't have to behave like this. But they are not aware, and then they behave egotistically and selfishly. And if you learn about this cultural heritage from the Borobudur period, which is still being practiced in Tibet, it actually goes deep into this kind of knowledge and understanding, about who we are as human beings and how we can be aware and play a good role in this life and be good and useful for all sentient beings on this earth. That’s the basic teaching from my ancestors, that's why I’m sort of like, “Yeah! This is very good, and very important, and very relevant in today’s situation too!” So that's why I try to bring it up in my work, but of course, I combine it with modern knowledge, science, and technology. So, with this work, I used video on purpose. We can use this technology in a positive way because remember technology and science can be used in a magnificent way. We just have to be aware and have an understanding, then we can use these tools or knowledge positively. So I’m not against modernization or science or technology, but I just want to remind myself and others that if we are not aware then this tool will use us.

[ZL] I understand that concept of mistrust. When you were talking I got a flashback, during COVID a lot of people in this predominantly white community gave me stares and comments about how I, myself, brought COVID to this country because I am an Asian woman, so I understand.

[A] It’s crazy, right? Humans can become easily suspecting because if there is some problem, they don’t really want to blame themselves- they tend to blame others. That is the tendency. But, when people begin to realize and become aware of these negative tendencies, we will be careful in accusing others. So this is maybe something that also something that I have learned from the cultural heritage, that we are aware and aren’t accusing or judging others for whatever problems they have to deal with. So this ancient wisdom is really deep knowledge that is needed today because our modern system and way of thinking are making us forget about what is human and what is our role in this life.

[ZL] A lot of your environmental projects have been at the grassroots level, working directly with impacted communities. Do you feel that direct work is more sustainable for the community than working with a larger outreach group? 

[A] That’s right. I’ve been doing this for almost two decades now with various communities in Indonesia and abroad, it’s more sustainable and promising. Because, when the kind of action is supported by the community, by people working together, it is reliable. Because they are independent and have confidence. But when it is just a project coming from the top, usually when the project is “done” the people say “Okay, that’s it,” and there's no continuation. But with his kind of approach, people have this confidence and also some are proud of what they are doing. This is more than just finishing a project, they want to actually build it. That is becoming sustainable. Also, with this kind of work, people gather knowledge together. This is very important, in the modern system knowledge is power amongst the specific group who has this opportunity to learn and study in universities, for example. In a country like Indonesia or the super Third World, those who can go and study in such higher institutions are the only those who can pay for it. That’s not fair. Knowledge is supposed to be for everyone, right? Everyone has to have access to it, although, maybe one person to another has different needs, either way, the access is for everyone. In reality, that is not possible, so that’s why with this kind of work, with the community- I also learned a lot from this experience about how we can empower ourselves, you are not easily becoming selfish or egotistic, because your community will always remind you of coexistence.

I have been teaching at Basal University. I got to learn from my students about how lots of them felt stressed and even depressed because they had to compete with their friends. Why? Why aren’t you working together, collaborating, and being happy together? There are a lot of cases, especially during winter, when people commit suicide. That’s really stupid, that’s really crazy. And why are we doing this, for what? Now I’m happy, I’m working with young people in western, rich countries. I was working in the Netherlands last October and was invited to give a talk at Leiden University, Rietveld Academy, and Willem de Kooning Academy. I was really happy because they are already starting to see the problems in this modern lifestyle, and now they want to learn about the other side of knowledge which is more spiritual. This gives me a sense of hope. I’ll be going to New York in July for five weeks and I am going to work with the community there, and I hope there are a lot of young members of the community. Also, for example, two of my students are working in Indonesia, German students, for almost 5 years. They are studying and working with the community and helping those in need. So this is how this community-based work would become a kind of alternative, creative solution for the problems we have to deal with all over the world. And I’m happy, more and more young people, even from the richer countries, are beginning to see and become aware that something has been wrong and we have to make it right by collaborating, by working together with other groups of young people in other parts of the world. It’s good, I’m happy to see that. Change starts in small groups.

[ZL] Can you talk more about the theme of hope, and how your thinking about that has changed in recent works? Is that reflected in any current projects or how you think about past projects? Related to that, can you talk about the potential of art to speak to current events and provoke action? 

[A] Today we have to deal with the effect of the Pandemic, and as I mentioned earlier there is a negative side and a positive one. As I explained, I have been working with communities, which keeps hope. It seems that the pandemic has made people lose their hope, which is very sad. But, I’m hoping that this movement of community and the younger generation will build a sense of hope for everyone and the generations. The older generations seem to be giving up, this is the negative impact of the system, but when they see that their children or the young people they know have this energy and enthusiasm for making change, this also will give them a sense of hope- as I have experienced. I’m not young anymore! I met all these young people doing something really concrete, it’s really giving me a sense of hope. Like, “Okay! I’m going to support you guys and do whatever I can do.” So that’s the meaning of this “hope” today- it’s really important. And we have to keep that meaning, we can't rely on those who are on top of the ladder, because they get tired and confused, or stuck. For example, I was invited to speak on the global forum, and there were some politicians and businessmen, and I was like “Hey, what is happening in this forum? Usually, this is among artists or appreciators.” Politicians? Oh my gosh. Then I asked the organizer who invited me and he said, “Yes because they need creative input from artists because now they feel stuck.” How can they continue operating this system when they feel stuck? So then I saw the list of artists who were invited, they were all coming from Asia! So I asked again, “why only artists from Asia?” So then the leader said they were doing research on the community and relationship with the planet, and most are coming from Asia. Maybe it’s because the system from Asia is quite problematic so we have to get creative. But yeah, I was happy to give that talk. That’s the reality, that is what is going on today in this world. And if we can see this kind of creative movement of people, of community, we can collaborate with each other and do something creative for people. This is the time for it, now. And we build our own hope. I hope I have given a sense of hope to ourselves, and the listener.