Artist Feature | Indah Arsyad

Cuturi Gallery is pleased to spotlight the work of Indonesian multimedia artist Indah Arsyad, ahead of her participation in our upcoming all-female group exhibition this September.

 

Indah Arsyad is a Jakarta-based artist whose work moves fluidly between science, culture, and the environment. Trained as a landscape architect and engineer of environmental technology at Trisakti University, Jakarta, Arsyad’s transition into contemporary art was marked by an evolving interest in identity—initially that of the self, and eventually extending to wider sociocultural and urban contexts. Her practice frequently investigates how objects exist within space, and how spatiality becomes a signifying force in larger discourses of identity, climate, and collective futures.

 

Her early works, shaped by personal experience, dealt closely with womanhood and psychological terrain. This thematic foundation matured into more experimental, multi-sensory installations that incorporated video, LED lighting, digital sound, and environmental data to explore the tension between ancient belief systems and emergent technology.

 

In 2019, she reached a significant milestone with her large-scale installation for id Sengkurat Identitas, a duo exhibition exploring Indonesian identity. Subsequent projects like Butterfly featuring Wayang silhouettes illuminated with LED lights, offered a theatrical, futuristic take on Javanese iconography. Other major works include The Breath (2018–2020), a digital video installation born from the combined trauma of George Floyd’s case and the COVID-19 pandemic. The piece, which drew from ancient knowledge surrounding oxygen and breath, has since evolved into The Ultimate Breath, and will be exhibited at Weltmuseum Wien in November 2025.

 

Among her most notable recent works is Amrta (2024), presented as part of Indonesia Bertutur at Museum Puri Lukisan, Ubud. This open-air multimedia installation merges Balinese spiritual philosophy with cutting-edge technology. Anchored in the subak irrigation system and the Tri Hita Karana concept (the harmony between humans, nature, and the divine), Amrta incorporates real-time environmental data, such as pH and CO₂ levels from the Pakerisan River—collected via IoT (Internet of Things) sensors. These data points drive bamboo kinetic elements that trigger traditional Balinese instruments like the rindik and reong, producing a living gamelan soundtrack. Video projections and animated figures, such as the mythic Rangda, respond in tandem, embodying a vibrant fusion of myth, science, and ecology.

 

Through this and other projects, Arsyad has cemented a signature approach that binds art with urgent environmental narratives and spiritual reflection. Her work doesn’t merely present aesthetic form, it proposes alternate visions of living, healing, and remembering.

 

In 2025, Arsyad continues to expand her reach through The Golden Land, a video installation that was exhibited as part of the Terra Incognita initiative by the National Gallery of Indonesia (2021). The work reflects on the identity of a nation shaped by the spice route, touching on themes of colonialism, trade, and the spread of religion into the Nusantara archipelago, featuring iconic figures from both Western and Eastern powers as they entered the region via the spice route.

 

We look forward to presenting Indah Arsyad’s work in Singapore this September, and invite audiences to discover the powerful intersections between mythology, climate, and cultural continuity that define her practice.