Membangun Rumah (Building a House), 2021

Installation and performance art, in collaboration with Bintang Manira Manik (sound), Gilang Anom M. Manik (video editing), and the participants of the workshop with the same title
Variable dimensions
Artist collection


The performance Building a House, is of Marintan Sirait realising the connection between the body and the surrounding environment. The stage is a mound of earth, which is shaped as a cone, through the use of sand, ashes, light and bodily movements. On various occasions, Marintan enriches the installation through using newspapers, videos, music and plants. He usually starts the performance through drawing a circle with his finger in the sand which surrounds the cones. Then he covers his body with sand and makes lines from the dark soil, as if connecting the cones or transforming them into a new form.

Between 1994 to 2017, Marintan has performed this work at various exhibitions in numerous countries. Every performance is different in terms of movement and form. He adjusts it in line with the traits of the space in which it is performed. Marintan often invites the audience to become involved in the performance. Just as the body is always in process, this work has never become fixed or finished.

 

About the Artist

Marintan Sirait, a graduate of the Ceramic Department at ITB, created her works with her body. From her drawings, paintings and installations, his bodily movements were consistently one of the main elements. Her body was a means and and a source of energy to channel a primordial consciousness. In 1988, she founded Sumber Waras, an experimental artists group. In 1995, together with her husband Andar Manik, she founded Jendela Ide, an arts organisation for chidlren and teenagers.


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