Meliantha Muliawan (b. 1992, Indonesia) addresses societal behaviour and issues by exploring the relationship between inanimate everyday objects and their context. In this artwork, she processes a familiar domestic object—the tea towel—with resin. In dissociating the object from its typical context, Meliantha gives it new values and interpretation, and demonstrates the active role art plays in producing the identity of its subject.
Meliantha considers material selection intimate, personal and comparable to a bodily experience. She observes materials as markers or signs, scrutinising tensions in their meaning within collective memory. By examining materials, she offers alternative perspectives for what is considered important and what is not.
Meliantha’s solo shows include Mon–Fri (2019) at RUBANAH Underground Hub, Jakarta and Translucent (2017) with Redbase Foundation, Yogyakarta following a residency program. Her works have been collected by the Singapore Art Museum and renowned private collectors in Asia and Australia.