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Platform Description
The Port of Ulupampang (now Muncar) in Banyuwangi was a meeting point used by the Europeans – the British and the Dutch — in the era of colonialism, to carry out political and trading practices.
This port, which was a part of the Blambangan kingdom, was once a witness to the exchange of cultures and crops. Amidst the turbulence of the land systems—Cultuurstelsel, forced labor—Jalan Raya Pos / Jalan Daendels, and the system of government administration under Dutch colonialism, the Javanese became laborers on their own land. On the other hand, Blambangan was once very difficult to conquer. Blambangan is the last Hindu kingdom in Java.
We will plant the testimonies of Ulupampang in five villages in Banyuwangi which have narratives related to the Javanese-European political map with the aim of decentralizing narratives and spaces as a non-singular reminiscence. The planting of testimonies (sites) was carried out in various public spaces in five villages, with the hope of creating hybrid possibilities and minimizing identity conflicts.
Abi Muhammad Latif (Producer)
Curatorial Statement
Who, exactly, is history? Does it stop amidst a construction?
When a site is destroyed by war, disaster, or epidemic – and its archives are also destroyed, it does not necessarily mean that all data from that site is destroyed. Life goes on, traditions continue in the form of ceremonies, weddings, games, art. Various forms of cultural products from that tradition continued: agriculture, food, clothing, work tools, buildings, and fairy tales. All living data from this tradition is a collective memory of the historical community and continues dialoguing to face new challenges. It is another illustration of the freezing of history in the construction of nationalism as well as the intervention of other influences and the tourism industry.
Five villages (Bayu, Glenmore, Singonegaran, Tembokrejo, and Mandar) are Banyuwangi’s specific sites which are reflections of the “historical community” in this Studio Klampisan program. The historical communities from these five villages are presented again in several art and discussion programs: looking for participatory and interdisciplinary methods in forming togetherness as well as in reading histories that are not dogmatic.
Afrizal Malna (Curator)
The history of indonesian workforce (TKI, Tenaga Kerja Indonesia) abroad begun in the Dutch colonialism era through the placement of contracted labours to Suriname, South America. the objective was to replace the just-independent African slaves. Javanese, Maduran, Sundanese, and Batak people were taken. they were to do work at Suriname’s plantations.
Javanese’s low economic income due to the Merapi eruption and over-population were the basis for the Dutch government’s decision to choose TKI from Java. this kind of labor persisted up to the time of Indonesia’s independence, when Indonesia authorized the laws of TKI placement and protection abroad.
Based on the data of Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Agency (BP2MI). East Java province is the largest supplier of migrant workers from Indonesia, where Banyuwangi regency is included in the 5 largest pockets of migrant workers suppliers, especially female workers.
Klampisan is a border area between two villages in southern Banyuwangi. this area has good natural potential in the agrarian sector, especially rice, corn, dragon fruit, and teak. however, many Klampisan women choose to work abroad. This is caused by the low level of education and the unattractiveness of agrarian work and income. Almost all female migrant workers decide to become domestic workers because this profession does not require well-established work skills. women in Klampisan, since childhood, have been familiar with domestic work, one of which is about the kitchen.
Kitchen is one of the most crucial spaces for migrant workers. kitchen has become a work space, a space that connects organically after a series of adaptation and sensory processes.
Sumintarsih, in the journal Pawon dalam Budaya Jawa (2006), discussed pawon (Javanese for ‘kitchen’) through spatial, form, and philosophical perspectives. Some of those are that the kitchen is an additional building, or not a main/important building; there is no element of faith in the position and direction of the kitchen; kitchen is seen as the weakest part of the house in its relations with women; and so on. A number of the said opinions and theories referred to Javanese culture’s discrimination and sexism toward kitchen narratives. This is contradictory to female migrant house helpers’ survival, who positions kitchen as their main arena to do so.
Multiple Platforms:
This platform aims to produce novel knowledge on the topics of gender equality and female migrant workers survivability, specifically for postcolonial countries. This project also strives to provide an antithesis to Javanese culture, which considers kitchen (and women) as something weak/unimportant in a spatial perspective.
The history of indonesian workforce (TKI. tenaga kerja indonesia) abroad begun in the Dutch colonialism era through the placement of contracted labours to Suriname, South America. the objective was to replace the just-independent African slaves. Javanese, Maduran, Sundanese, and Batak people were taken. they were to do work at Suriname’s plantations.
Javanese’s low economic income due to the Merapi eruption and over-population were the basis for the Dutch government’s decision to choose TKI from Java. this kind of labor persisted up to the time of Indonesia’s independence, when Indonesia authorized the laws of TKI placement and protection abroad.
based on the data of indonesian migrant workers protection agency (BP2MI). East Java province is the largest supplier of migrant workers from Indonesia, where Banyuwangi regency is included in the 5 largest pockets of migrant workers suppliers, especially female workers.
Klampisan is a border area between two villages in southern Banyuwangi. this area has good natural potential in the agrarian sector, especially rice, corn, dragon fruit, and teak. however, many Klampisan women choose to work abroad. this is caused by the low level of education and the unattractiveness of agrarian work and income. almost all female migrant workers decide to become domestic workers because this profession does not require well-established work skills. women in Klampisan, since childhood, have been familiar with domestic work, one of which is about the kitchen.
kitchen is one of the most crucial spaces for migrant workers. kitchen has become a work space, a space that connects organically after a series of adaptation and sensory processes.
Sumintarsih, in the journal pawon dalam budaya jawa (2006), discussed pawon (Javanese for ‘kitchen’) through spatial, form, and philosophical perspectives. some of those are that the kitchen is an additional building, or not a main/important building; there is no element of faith in the position and direction of the kitchen; kitchen is seen as the weakest part of the house in its relations with women; and so on. a number of the said opinions and theories referred to Javanese culture’s discrimination and sexism toward kitchen narratives. this is contradictory to female migrant house helpers’ survival, who positions kitchen as their main arena to do so.
the said background triggers us to initiate a platform titled mama’s imagination kitchen. this platform consists of discourses, 360-degree video works, and online publishing of critical articles. this platform seeks to explore the Indonesian workforce narratives regarding the survivability of female migrant house helpers and the kitchen as a space.
through the theme, we will hold the discourses in an attempt to spread awareness about workforce policies that weaken female migrant domestic workers and eradicate them. moreover, we will publish critical articles online, involving 5 authors with different backgrounds, concerning Javanese culture narratives and the relations to the theme above. and lastly, the 360-degree video work will involve 7 Klampisan female migrant house helpers from Klampisan, Banyuwangi in various countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Hongkong, Taiwan, Brunei Darussalam, and Saudi Arabia.
this video work is an experimentation of a civil society laboratory that explores the relation of their survival to the kitchen as a space. this experiment will process narratives on survivability, architecture, interculturality and taste, as well as materialism in a work mode of imagining an ideal kitchen for them. the elaborated occurrences will use an in-and-out/local-global strategy, with an interface communication form; local kitchen’s face (their own home’s kitchens) and their ideal version of a kitchen’s face (a kitchen constructed with foreign cultures, form, and brands), as well as local languages with the language they use while working abroad.
Multiple Platform
This platform aims to produce novel knowledge on the topics of gender equality and female migrant workers survivability, specifically for postcolonial countries. this project also strives to provide an antithesis to Javanese culture, which considers kitchen (and women) as something weak/unimportant in a spatial perspective.
