How does an artist trace something that is both present and no longer exists? And in that act of tracing, where does he stand?
In providing a proper context for Aliansyah’s work and the communities that shape it, this talk unfolds research as the artistic process—how an artist navigates colonial archives, engages with local communities, and develops artistic gestures in response to historical extraction and ecological memory.
Aliansyah will walk us through his long-term project, “All That Is Solid Melts into Air”, in which he examines the lasting impacts of industrialization and colonial exploitation alongside the Batak communities in Barus, Indonesia through the camphor tree. Starting with questions and observation on land ownership and the systematic erasure of knowledge, then following archival works across Europe and Taiwan tracing the camphor tree, Aliansyah will move into the exploration phase of materiality of the tree and how he develop to the performance rituals as a form of embodied connection and remembrance within communities. The presentation will be followed by a short discussion on doing ecological and historical research as artistic practice.
“Tree Without Roots” is an in-depth artist talk with Aliansyah Caniago, who presented his practice as a form of research-based inquiry, on Sunday afternoon, March 29, from 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
