“Image of the Giant” is a long-term art and research project by Indonesian artists and musicians Yennu Ariendra and J. Mo'ong Santoso Pribadi, also known as Raja Kirik. It considers the histories of violence, oppression, and resistance in Java, Indonesia, ranging from pre-colonial times to the Dutch occupation and to contemporary exploitations by multinational mining companies.

Ariendra and Pribadi examine how ritual and folklore practices evolve over time to respond to changing challenges, as well as the echo of such narratives and their aesthetic forms in contemporary pop culture. The popular music dangdut koplo, which is often considered pop cultural trash, is understood as a tool that provides the poorer part of the population with an important, raw language for articulating their experiences and needs. Across their practice, Raja Kirik shows how music, dance, and ritual still provide narrative means to assert oneself against foreign domination and violence.

The talk took place within CTM Festival’s daytime Discourse series that regroups a wide-ranging cast of artists, thinkers, practitioners, researchers, tinkerers, and industry professionals in a programme of talks, panel discussions, lecture-performances, workshops, film screenings and other formats of exchange.