Artist’s Talk: Melati Suryodarmo

Indonesian performance artist Melati Suryodarmo discusses her first UK solo exhibition, Passionate Pilgrim.

Passionate Pilgrim runs from 17 May to 3 September 2023. Free entry.

This exhibition is supported by Bagri Foundation, British Council through the Connections Through Culture grants programme, Birmingham City University, University of Leeds, and the Melati Suryodarmo Exhibition Circle: A.I. Gallery; ShanghART, Tanya Michele Amador and Michiel Verhoeven; and Michelangelo and Lourdes Samson.

It is developed in collaboration with Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara (Museum MACAN), Jakarta, Indonesia.

About the artist 

Melati Suryodarmo (b. 1969, Surakarta, Indonesia) is one of Indonesia’s most important living artists. Mentored by renowned Butoh dancer and choreographer Anzu Furukawa and performance artist Marina Abramović, Suryodarmo’s physically demanding performances can last several hours, testing the limits of the human mind and body.

Visually spectacular, her performances are feats of endurance that interrogate notions of time, labour and identity. She has presented her work in international festivals and exhibitions including Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht (2022), Museum MACAN, Jakarta (2020 – 21), Singapore Biennale (2016), HKW Berlin (2009), and the Venice Biennale (2003).

Suryodarmo has extensive experience in leading collaborative workshops and festivals in Indonesia, having established Undisclosed Territory in 2007, now run by her artists-run space Studio Plesungan.