Image credit: Marikit Santiago; Photo: Garry Trinh; Zico Albaiquni; Photo: Kartika Larasati In association with the exhibition ‘Marikit Santiago: Proclaim Your Death!’, join visual artists and painters, Marikit Santiago and Zico Albaiquni for a conversation about the intersection of their practices. Sharing a similar approach to creating bold, figurative oil-paintings, both artists interrogate the lasting impact of religion and European colonisation on the Southeast Asian region. Delving into their personal and cultural histories, Marikit and Zico will discuss how their practices draw on their respective Southeast Asian heritage, and how they consider the representation of people and landscape within a historical and contemporary context. This event will be Auslan interpreted. Marikit Santiago is an artist who lives and works in Parramatta. Her practice overlays her lived Filipina-Australian experience onto the canon of Western art history. By combining the narrative power of Catholicism with her first-person account of bare life, Santiago’s emotionally-charged works call into question the preconceived dualities of utopia and dystopia, control and transgression, duty and autonomy, sex and sexual difference, paradise and exile. Marikit’s work is unquestionably personal, her compositions depict her family and are jointly made with her children. Her paintings are humble in materials, using oil paint on cardboard, and bold in content, depicting biblical narratives which reframe herself as Eve, her husband as Adam, and her children as grappling with temptation and sin in the Garden of Eden. Santiago’s practice is dedicated to her children — a love letter to both her family, her culture, Australia, and Figuration-writ-large. Zico Albaiquni is an Indonesian painter whose work explores the socio-political, spiritual, and geopolitical challenges faced by the people of the Indonesian archipelago, both in the present and throughout its long history. Albaiquni examines the intergenerational transfer of knowledge, the enduring legacies of pre-colonial cultures, and how these histories continue to shape the lives of those who inhabit the archipelago today. Albaiquni’s work is deeply rooted in the tradition of lukis (painting), and he engages with the Mooi Indie (‘beautiful Indies’) painting style – a genre that romanticised Indonesian landscapes and people during Dutch colonial rule. Albaiquni’s large-scale paintings break from conventional formats through trompe l’oeil illusions and irregular borders. He uses collage and historical imagery to interrogate accepted narratives and disrupt hierarchical representations. His work contributes to broader conversations on decolonization, exploring the transformative potential of artistic practice in reshaping and renewing cultural narratives, challenging traditional hierarchies, and expanding the definition of what art and culture can be. Located on Dharawal land, Campbelltown Arts Centre is proudly owned by the people of Campbelltown and is a cultural facility of Campbelltown City Council. Campbelltown Arts Centre is assisted by the NSW Government through Create NSW and also receives support from the Neilson Foundation. Marikit Santiago: Proclaim Your Death! is commissioned by Campbelltown Arts Centre. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body.
Image credit: Marikit Santiago; Photo: Garry Trinh; Zico Albaiquni; Photo: Kartika Larasati In association with the exhibition ‘Marikit Santiago: Proclaim Your Death!’, join visual artists and painters, Marikit Santiago and Zico Albaiquni for a conversation about the intersection of their practices. Sharing a similar approach to creating bold, figurative oil-paintings, both artists interrogate the lasting impact of religion and European colonisation on the Southeast Asian region. Delving into their personal and cultural histories, Marikit and Zico will discuss how their practices draw on their respective Southeast Asian heritage, and how they consider the representation of people and landscape within a historical and contemporary context. This event will be Auslan interpreted. Marikit Santiago is an artist who lives and works in Parramatta. Her practice overlays her lived Filipina-Australian experience onto the canon of Western art history. By combining the narrative power of Catholicism with her first-person account of bare life, Santiago’s emotionally-charged works call into question the preconceived dualities of utopia and dystopia, control and transgression, duty and autonomy, sex and sexual difference, paradise and exile. Marikit’s work is unquestionably personal, her compositions depict her family and are jointly made with her children. Her paintings are humble in materials, using oil paint on cardboard, and bold in content, depicting biblical narratives which reframe herself as Eve, her husband as Adam, and her children as grappling with temptation and sin in the Garden of Eden. Santiago’s practice is dedicated to her children — a love letter to both her family, her culture, Australia, and Figuration-writ-large. Zico Albaiquni is an Indonesian painter whose work explores the socio-political, spiritual, and geopolitical challenges faced by the people of the Indonesian archipelago, both in the present and throughout its long history. Albaiquni examines the intergenerational transfer of knowledge, the enduring legacies of pre-colonial cultures, and how these histories continue to shape the lives of those who inhabit the archipelago today. Albaiquni’s work is deeply rooted in the tradition of lukis (painting), and he engages with the Mooi Indie (‘beautiful Indies’) painting style – a genre that romanticised Indonesian landscapes and people during Dutch colonial rule. Albaiquni’s large-scale paintings break from conventional formats through trompe l’oeil illusions and irregular borders. He uses collage and historical imagery to interrogate accepted narratives and disrupt hierarchical representations. His work contributes to broader conversations on decolonization, exploring the transformative potential of artistic practice in reshaping and renewing cultural narratives, challenging traditional hierarchies, and expanding the definition of what art and culture can be. Located on Dharawal land, Campbelltown Arts Centre is proudly owned by the people of Campbelltown and is a cultural facility of Campbelltown City Council. Campbelltown Arts Centre is assisted by the NSW Government through Create NSW and also receives support from the Neilson Foundation. Marikit Santiago: Proclaim Your Death! is commissioned by Campbelltown Arts Centre. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body.