Born 1960 in Emmeloord
Lives and works in Yogyakarta

1960年生於埃默洛爾德
現於日惹市生活及工作

The Constructor
2008-2023
Variable dimensions. A module of a finished bamboo structure is roughly 3 x 3 x 3 m. The work will be continuously built throughout the fair days
Bamboo, costumes

Indonesia-based Mella Jaarsma’s work for Encounters begins with an invitation ‘to see the artist as a building’. Often focusing on forms of cultural diversity embedded within clothing and the body, for this work the artist has engaged construction workers to utilise a pile of bamboo and configure a scaffold around her body. Whilst commenting on how the expansion of cities adds to the environmental burden, the artist actively pays homage to the builders as collaborators and uses her work as a platform to reflect on the dehumanisation of labor. Across the 5-day duration of Art Basel Hong Kong, the work will continually evolve through performative activation and durational habitation by five people, the first being the artist, with each person joining the performance in a process of accumulation. At various moments across its evolution, they will step in and out of the work in varied costumes that will remain in place of their bodies when absent. Underpinning the work is the question of who we are as a body, both individually and collectively, when we are seen and unseen.

Mella Jaarsma is known for her complex costume installations and her focus on forms of cultural and racial diversity embedded within clothing, the body and food. In 1988, she co-founded Cemeti Art House, the first space for contemporary art in Indonesia, which remains an important platform for art practitioners in the country and region.

《The Constructor》
2008-2023
尺寸不定。 竹棚成品大約為 3 x 3 x 3 米。 該作品將在展會期間持續建造。
竹、服裝

居於印尼的Mella Jaarsma為「藝聚空間」創作的作品以「把藝術家視為建築本身」開展。這位藝術家經常關注潛藏於服裝及身體的文化多樣性。這次她請來建築工人用竹子圍繞自己的身體搭建一個棚架。在提出城市擴張如何增加環境負擔的同時，她也主動向參與建造的建築工人致敬，並以作品建立思考將勞工去人化的平台。在巴塞爾藝術展香港展會五天的展期中，作品會由五個人以持續表演的形式進行，首先是藝術家本人，其後每次加入一位新的表演者參與。在擴建過程中的不同時刻，他們會穿著各種服裝進出作品內外，並在離開前將衣服置於他們當時的位置。作為作品的基本論調，藝術家質問當我們被看見或不被看見時，在個人或集體中身體的定位。

Mella Jaarsma以其複雜的服裝裝置和將文化和種族多樣性注入服裝、身體和食物而聞名。她於1988年共同創立了印尼的第一個當代藝術空間——Cemeti Art House，至今仍是該地區藝術從業者的重要平台。