Mella Jaarsma Weareables with Meaning

Dutch born visual artist, Mella Jaarsma has made Indonesia her home base. A co-founder of the influential Cemeti Art House, she is very much engaged with the artistic sphere in Yogyakarta where much of her art pieces are created, and exhibited in important platforms from the National Gallery Jakarta to the Venice Bienalle.  Mella’s art is always ‘moving’. Her work takes on an anthropological perspective: curious and respectful but, of late, deeply social if not political.  In its expression, it is subtle, non-confrontational, clearly decolonizing - triggering us, the viewer, to ask questions, especially when the reality of the past makes for an unsettling feeling when seen from the context today.  Her pieces are complex costume installations which reflect her peculiar way to address issues that captures her attention. From everyday objects, to almost extinct animals. Mella also brings to fore her subjects in a way that is evocative, enveloped with a strange or quirky sense of humor.  Her focus is on forms of cultural and racial diversity out of the function of clothing and the way applied on the body.