Passionate Pilgrim Extended

Passionate Pilgrim Extended (2010–23) is a new, 2-hour performance based on Melati Suryodarmo’s original work, Passionate Pilgrim. For the first time, she performs alongside 14 women from The Voice of Domestic Workers, a UK-based network and activist group. 

Over 2 hours, Suryodarmo and the women move around an installation of 100 mirrors, contemplating their reflection, identity and the gaze of the audience. 

This performance is supported by University of Leeds. Presented as part of Melati Suryodarmo’s exhibition Passionate Pilgrim (17 May – 3 September 2023).

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.

The Voice of the Domestic Workers  

The Voice of Domestic Workers (VODW) is a self-help grassroots organisation led by and run for migrant domestic workers calling for justice and rights for Britain’s sixteen thousand migrant domestic workers. They search for ways to overcome their isolation and vulnerability and demand respect as workers, as contributors to the British economy, and as human beings. VODW practice community organising to raise awareness and solve problems their members face like homelessness, abuse, and accessing immigration advice. VODW provides education and community activities including financial and employment alongside English language lessons, IT, drama, and art classes.