Reclaim the Erased
Title: Reclaim the Erased
Year: 2023
Medium: Chinese ink on rice paper, stop motion and animation
Dimensions: Varied dimensions
Reclaim the Erased explores the impact of the banning of Chinese expressions during Indonesia's New Order (1966-1998) on the identity of Chinese Indonesians. This artwork raises the question: “What if traditional Chinese celebrations were banned and never celebrated again?"
Because of the ban on the Chinese language, many Chinese Indonesians speak Indonesian more fluently than Chinese, and hence hover above the intersection of the Chinese and Indonesian culture. To portray this confusion many Chinese Indonesians face about their identity, I combined the style of traditional Chinese ink paintings and Indonesian Buketan Batik.
This stop motion animation accompanies the painting above. I chose to narrate in Indonesian to show how big of an impact the Indonesian culture and language has on my identity. The subtitles, a direct translation from the narration in Indonesian, are incomplete Chinese sentences, hinting that I am not as fluent in Chinese as I am in Indonesian. Even after learning Chinese for 15 years, I am still incapable in speaking fluent Chinese, showing how detrimental the language ban was on Chinese Indonesians.