Sekarputri Sidhiawati

(she/her)
b 1986, Jakarta, Indonesia
Lives and works in Bali, Indonesia

Sekarputri Sidhiawati’s series of ceramic vases form playful meditations on self, girlhood and bodily identity. At once fantastical and functional, the vases are painted over with flowers, some drawn from nature, like daisies, passionflower and baby’s breath, and some make-believe. Amid the wildflowers are the miniature forms of female figures, leaning against, clinging to and embracing the vessels. This whimsical juxtaposition of naked bodies against a decorative surface with imagery blurring the bounds between the real and the imaginary, inspires contemplation of certain states of emotion that wield a powerful hold over the feminine body. Through the delicate beauty of the flowers and the vulnerability of the female figures, the works celebrate a yearning for affection and fear of loneliness. In the eyes of Sidhiawati, this impulsion to be ‘clingy’ (lekat)—a word so often pinned onto women in romantic relationships—may not be so self-contained, selfish or pitiable after all, but rather an ever-present feeling to be found in ‘everyone and anyone who doesn’t want to be separated from things that they enjoy and like.’