How long have you been working in the region and what excites you about being there?

I grew up in Majalengka, West Java. After graduating from high school, I decided to return and continue my studies in my hometown of Yogyakarta where I have now lived for almost 21 years. I have learnt a lot about art and culture here in Yogyakarta, particularly its multiculturalism as well as how we live collectively, as a form of alternative learning.

 

Can you please describe where you work? What can you see out of your window?

I often work in my community, SURVIVE!Garage. I find working collectively very interesting because we learn from each other. I work in a shared space with other community members, I often move rooms when working, depending on the activities or programs that are being run by the community. Sometimes I work in the back studio with a view of the backyard with the neighbor’s children playing. I also work in the living room which our community usually uses as a gallery, where I can see artworks as well as a small garden. Meanwhile, if I work in the front room I see the side yard with several types of plants such as banana trees, cassava trees and a papaya tree.

Tell us a little about your current work.

I am currently continuing my long-term project – a collection of stories and songs about the women's movement in Indonesia which I document in woodcut prints. I think that documenting the women's movement through art is important as a reminder of events, to record history, and of course this recording is seen from the women's point of view.

Can you share with us something of the story behind one of the works on view at Castlemaine Art Museum?

My work records many important events in my life and is inspired by International Women's Day marches. Different women's activist groups unite to demand change on social, cultural, legal, and economic matters, ensuring that women's rights are recognized, fulfilled, and protected. There is an emphasis on violence against LGBT groups, protection of domestic workers and migrant workers, child marriage, dating violence, and protection of sex workers. These marches are a form of solidarity with activists around the world. My message to the world is that women's rights are part of human rights. I also collect protest songs.

Do you start with an idea or does your work develop more intuitively out of the process of working with materials or forms?

I often write ideas in my mobile phone. Ideas can appear anywhere: when I see an event, when I'm chatting with friends, reading, or even when I want to sleep (this is perhaps when my mind wanders the most). When the idea arises, I immediately write it down as a data bank for my next work.

What music or podcast are you listening to when you work?

Mostly I listen to music that is not my playlist, hahaha because friends in the community have chosen to play songs that we can all listen to together. But I when I am printing my woodcuts I play songs by Manu Chao. Because I print manually without using a printing press, the beat fits perfectly when I step on the woodblock. So I can print at the same time as I exercise and dance on the MDF board hahaha.

 

Is your practice solitary or do you work with others?

I practice solitary.

It can be both, I do my own work, and also often involve friends in the community to help especially

when printing.

 

Can our readers view your work in any other way at the moment?

I upload my works to Instagram @FitriDK.

Is there something else you would like to add for our readers?

I hope we can meet face to face, chat a lot and make something interesting together.

June 2021