For this work, I travelled to the Balim Valley in Papua (East-Indonesia) where I looked for penis sheaths to bring back to Java. The idea was to get Javanese men to wear the penis sheaths during the Yogyakarta Biennale. In addition to collecting the sheaths, I also invented a fictional collaborator for this work: a contemporary female artist from Papua called Michaella Jarawiri. I made a video about her life, showing how she fulfilled her dream to become an artist, as well as her CV.
The work is a response to the dominance of Javanese culture, often perceived to be the true “Indonesian Culture” although it is in fact hybrid in many aspects. In particular ‘My name is Michaella Jarawiri’ critically comments on the shortsightedness of much of the Javanese art scene, which often showcases the same artists, all living in Java.