During Evidence in Motion: DATANG (Indonesian for ‘come’), we will create space for a conversation between the past and present of Indonesian identities, fusing folklore and avant-garde, by bringing together the practices of the Indonesian experimental music duo SENYAWA with Rotterdam-based artist and researcher Ratri Notosudirdjo.

While embracing their cultural heritage, the participating artists challenge the perception of contemporary Indonesian identities from a domestic and diasporic perspective. Through intimate storytelling and instrument making, Ratri and Senyawa aim to deconstruct de- and postcolonial narratives, challenging current global narratives.

The performances will be followed by an artist talk reflecting on how contemporary Indonesian identities are constructed by giving insight into practice and personal experiences. Evidence in Motion: DATANG aims to give a moment to come together, share and understand each other.

7:00 pm: Doors
7.30 pm: Ratri Notosudirdjo
8:00 pm: Artist Talk
8:45 pm: Break
9:00 pm: SENYAWA

SENYAWA, (based in Jogjakarta), embodies the aural elements of traditional Indonesian music whilst exploring the framework of experimental music practice, pushing the boundaries of both traditions. Their music strikes a perfect balance between their avant-garde influences and cultural heritage to create truly contemporary Indonesian new music. Their sound is comprised of Rully Shabara’s deft extended vocal techniques punctuating the frenetic sounds of instrument builder, Wukir Suryadi’s modern-primitive instrumentation. Inventions like his handcrafted ‘Bamboo Spear’; a thick stem of bamboo strung up with percussive strips of the animal skin alongside steel strings. Amplified it fuses elements of traditional Indonesian instrumentation with garage guitar distortion. Sonically dynamic, the instrument can be rhythmically percussive on one side whilst being melodically bowed and plucked on the other.

Ratri Notosudirdjo (b. Jakarta 1994) is an interdisciplinary artist currently based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. She is Indonesian diaspora, a poet, storyteller and performer. Her research and practice engage in de- and postcolonial theory, centring storytelling in both historic and contemporary contexts, and often examining mechanisms that enable the cultural and poetic identity of diaspora individuals. Her practice is interested to understand how to break down global narratives through the intimacy of storytelling. These stories depart from personal experiences surrounding migration, late capitalism and childhood. They explore internal collisions within identity, belonging and memory. Here, diaspora is approached as an anchoring perspective, questioning how we can create a multidirectional archive about the present day? The artwork takes form through surrealism, myths, fantasy and folklore, while the storytelling borrows from magic realism.