I stayed at a residency at Jatiwangi Art Factory for one month in the village Jatiwangi in West Java surrounded by farmland and rooftile factories. I looked into the youth culture in this rural district. I realized that there are more than fourty Rock Bands active in the area, playing mostly heavy metal music. Community activities which appear in the public sphere are dominated by men. With the aim to be free and creative the youngsters create these bands. I collected their logos, screenprinted them on textile and inspired by the local band’s name ‘Kimonokiller’ I made two kimono’s out of them. Punk and heavy metal bands are having a desire to be different, but when I sew the logos together, in the end the logos appear similar.
Because of the name Kimonokiller, I started to look for a connection with Japan in relation to the history in this area. During the Japanese occupation, the Japanese confiscated land from the rice farmers to build a small airport. After the independency this military airport was never given back to the Indonesian farmers, although they are protesting up until today. The Indonesian government uses this land for a military airport. Also, the urban developments are rapidly changing life in this village and a toll road is being built nearby. The ruins of the Dutch sugar factory will be demolished soon and be replaced by a shopping mall with Japanese investors.