Finalist 15th UOBPOY 2025
Melting Pot – Astha District 8, Central Jakarta
15-30 October 2025
ALL WOUNDED FENGHUANG, FLIES THE HIGHEST
Gouache painting on fabric layered by paper-clay.
Fabric (textile), bone-china clay, paper pulp, gouache paint, wooden stick.
64,5 x 136 cm
2025
Set against the dark history of Indonesia that occurred in May 1998, where the minority ethnic of Chinese Indonesian or Tionghoa were terrorized.
There were riots and looting accompanied by mass harassment, rape, abuse, and even murder of women of Chinese descent.
Several Presidents have been changed, yet the perpetrators appear to be above the law. When the new government takes place, and history is about to be rewritten, these heinous tragedy are erased from the narrative.
This truly hurts the majority of Indonesian society, especially the dear departed victims and survivors of the Tionghoa families.
The artwork of “ALL WOUNDED FENGHUANG, FLIES THE HIGHEST” , is my personal prayer and tribute to the dear departed victims and survivors of May 1998.
May the wounds of past trauma become a source of strength and new spirit for all the survivor and flies the dear departed victim to the highest heaven.
Fenghuang (凤凰) commonly known as Chinese Phoenix, is a China mythical bird which symbolizes resilience, new hope, and rebirth after hardship.
*The artwork titled “All Wounded Fenghuang, Flies the Highest”, was inspired by a poem by American Poet - Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886) : “A Wounded Deer – Leaps Highest!”
There were riots and looting accompanied by mass harassment, rape, abuse, and even murder of women of Chinese descent.
Several Presidents have been changed, yet the perpetrators appear to be above the law. When the new government takes place, and history is about to be rewritten, these heinous tragedy are erased from the narrative.
This truly hurts the majority of Indonesian society, especially the dear departed victims and survivors of the Tionghoa families.
The artwork of “ALL WOUNDED FENGHUANG, FLIES THE HIGHEST” , is my personal prayer and tribute to the dear departed victims and survivors of May 1998.
May the wounds of past trauma become a source of strength and new spirit for all the survivor and flies the dear departed victim to the highest heaven.
Fenghuang (凤凰) commonly known as Chinese Phoenix, is a China mythical bird which symbolizes resilience, new hope, and rebirth after hardship.
*The artwork titled “All Wounded Fenghuang, Flies the Highest”, was inspired by a poem by American Poet - Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886) : “A Wounded Deer – Leaps Highest!”
