Fika Ria Santika

By assigning a singular title (i.e. Tumpuk Lapis, Tampak Isi) to each work, differentiated only by its reference to the specific phenomena in question (i.e. shadow, hue, or harmony) Fika challenges the viewer to consider how these works and subsequently their materials function at different levels. Either as a singular object in which hue and shadow combine tocreate a type of harmony or as more disparate entities, that detached from one another form exemplary representations of each phenomena respectively. In this way we might ask whether or not Tumpuk Lapis, Tampak Isi: Laras, as a representation of “harmony” (laras) is a kind of center piece for this study’s findings. If harmony is achieved by the organic combination of hue(s) and shadow(s) in the natural world, perhaps Fika is asking whether or not it is possible to achieve such harmony through the intentional manipulation of material and form.

Through her study of varied materials and their associated properties Fika asserts that she is continuously reaching a better understanding of nature’s character. It is her hope that this understanding will subsequently allow her to better live according to the principles of Minangkabau culture rooted in the naturally occurring world—a culture that while central to her being has for much of her life been absorbed through a process of osmosis. Ironically, it has only been with her migration to Yogyakarta from this culture’s center in West Sumatra that Fika has begun to question what it means and how it relates to identity in its varied layered forms.

excerpt from ‘di mana bumi di pijak, di situ langit dijunjung’, written by Katherine Bruhn for the exhibition EFFLORESCENCE.