Larung: May the Blooms Be Carried Safely through the Night

Commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation for Sharjah Biennial 16

2024-2025

Dian Suci, an artist based in Yogyakarta, has spent the past few years conducting in-depth observations on the lives of Javanese women workers who serve as extensions of global industry by bringing small-scale labour-sewing, attaching buttons, stitching labels and similar tasks-into the home. In ‘Larung; May the Blooms Be Carried Safely through the Night’ (2024), Dian Suci focuses on the contributions of women from the northern coast of Java. Her research is based in Jepara, a city renowned for its elaborate wood carving tradition, which later evolved into a hub for weaving culture. Inspired by historical figures like the sixteenth-century queen Ratu Kalinyamat and Raden Adjeng Kartini, who has been hailed as one of the country’s leading feminists, the project highlights how knowledge and skill held and shared by women has played a significant role in the economic development of the region.

– Alia Swastika