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Mella Jaarsma (Indonesia)
Yogyakarta-based Mella Jaarsma first studied visual arts in the Netherlands, her country of birth, and later continued her education in Indonesia at the Art Institute of Jakarta, and subsequently at the Indonesia Institute of the Arts. Jaarsma is an internationally exhibited multi-media artist who places cultural issues at the heart of her practice. The artist’s European/Asian viewpoint allows her a privileged and insightful perspective on Indonesia’s ethnic, religious and social paradoxes.
Exploiting 25 years of keen cultural observation, Jaarsma negotiates and tests the identity politics of contemporary Java. Stemming from a deeply felt humanism and a belief in pluralism, her pieces question hierarchies and all manner of conformity, both historically rooted and recently made. Jaarsma is also a curator and co-founded Yogyakarta’s seminal Cemeti Gallery, now Cemeti Art House.
How do you approach your art making?
I see art as a form of communication. Through art I look for ways to communicate something that interests me and that I think is necessary to share. So the audience is an important part of the work and I search for ways to create an impact on them.
Who or what had the biggest influence on your artistic career?
Living in Indonesia and the interaction with other artists played a major part.
What inspires or motivates you in your creative pursuits?
The layers that we carry around, from skin, clothing to housing, and perceptions by others towards these layers related to the social arena.
What do you love most about creating art?
The surprising reactions from others (negatively as well as positively) and the different interpretations related to their backgrounds.
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