Citra Sasmita‘s show, Into Eternal Land, was on at The Curve Barbican .
The traditional technique of Indonesian Kamasan painting was historically carried out exclusively by men to illustrate Hindu epics. Taught by a priest’s daughter she uses the medium to explore Bali’s culture and colonial past, inventing new female-centred mythologies to reimagine a post patriarchal world.
There was a lot to take in so I have focussed on two sections.
Painted snakeskins with carved wooden demon heads hung within circles of neatly plaited hair. As can be seen below, the snake is an important symbol in her practice.
The imagery everywhere is of blood and severed bodies. They are fizzing with the extravagant energy of creation, progenitors of life along with other symbols: fire, water, snakes and trees.
These women are all actively engaged in her cinematic panoramas.
