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Citra Sasmita, Into Eternal Land, The Curve, Barbican, 30 January - 21 April 2025 © Citra Sasmita. Photo: Jo Underhill / Barbican

Open a larger version of the following image in a popup:
Citra Sasmita, Into Eternal Land, The Curve, Barbican, 30 January - 21 April 2025 © Citra Sasmita. Photo: Jo Underhill / Barbican

Citra Sasmita
Prologue (Cowhide 1), 2024
Beaded cow hides hung on antique wooden pillars with aluminium saddles.
Part of larger installation comprising 5 pieces
each 100 x 180 cm (Cowhide) , Wood length 170/180 cm
each 100 x 180 cm (Cowhide) , Wood length 170/180 cm
Further images
Embarking into this site-specific ritual that Sasmita has carefully orchestrated, the journey Into Eternal Land begins with ornate strips of cowhides suspended over antique wooden pillars punctuated across the space....
Embarking into this site-specific ritual that Sasmita has carefully orchestrated, the journey Into Eternal Land begins with ornate strips of cowhides suspended over antique wooden pillars punctuated across the space. The artist transports us to a time before, of migration and bustling trade routes in Asia—the fervent pursuit of new lands and resources for survival and continuity. Antique Dutch coins and colourful beads adorn each piece of cowhide, tracing the numerous wrinkles and creases across the leather, which serve as markers for memory and passing time, at the same time resembling the landscapes of nature. Sasmita likens the cowhides to our own bodies as vessels for memory, where stretch marks on our skin carry the memories of our ancestors and that of our human experience. These cowhides undulate over antique wooden pillars that have been carefully sourced and would have been characteristic in the homes of Royal families in Bali, where the carvings of flowers are more complex and feature three petals than those in ordinary homes. Reminiscent of shelter and civilisation, these ancient wooden pillars—all salvaged and incomplete—echo the dilapidation of ancestral heritage, where there no longer are foundations to anchor the spirits of our pasts.