Arus Berlabuh Kita

The Current/s We Call Home

"Arus Berlabuh Kita" or "The Current/s We Call Home" is a site specific installation that draws on the deeply embedded migrational memories and waterways between Singapore and Indonesia, and more broadly the ancient maritime history of the region.

The work imagines a voyage across the sea captained by children who live between the two countries. Traditional sails or “layar” from the "jukung" becomes a motif that creates the mis en scene of this seafaring adventure. As an installation, the sails interweave through space by currents or the movement of water. Pictured on the sails, crafted with a mixture of medias, are images of children as commanders of this fantastical voyage. They travel metaphorically between time and space, as a future-bound reflection of the histories represented in the collections of the Asian Civilization Museum. Maritime elements in this installation celebrates the histories in the bilateral relationship of Indonesia and Singapore, acknowledging the sea as a body of water that has historically mediated trade and the exchange of ideas.