What Can We Learn from Sembako?,  enamel paint on guni sacks, size variable, total 9 pieces. 
 

 

 

Sembako, short for sembilan bahan pokok, refers to nine essential commodities that form part of everyday life in Indonesia. These basic necessities, including rice, sugar, salt, cooking oil, and other food products, reflect not only people’s daily needs but also their relationships with labour, economy, culture, and society.

What Can We Learn from Sembako? explores how these ordinary commodities can become a starting point for reflecting on social values, cultural beliefs, and political realities.

The work brings together Chinese proverbs and Indonesian peribahasa (traditional sayings), connecting each commodity with a familiar expression. While these sayings often carry moral lessons about hard work, humility, gratitude, and survival, they can also reveal contradictions within society, particularly concerning inequality, power, exploitation, and the distribution of resources.

Painted on used plastic guni sacks and presented in a traditional wet market, where these essential goods are bought and sold daily, the installation creates a dialogue between the artworks and their surrounding environment. The market becomes more than a place of economic exchange; it is also a social space where different communities, languages, and everyday experiences intersect.

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