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As an artist, Notosudirdjo is concerned with memory, physicality, scars, stories, with the traces of migration and the role of decolonization, dislocation and encounters. These elements are translated into participatory performances and workshops and form the performance Waterfalls & Sparring Scars, based on her family's memories in audio and image. Guided visualizations that are part of the performance result in quilts and texts, which are made on the spot by the participants. They eventually become part of an online quilt in word and textile, built from the contributions of the participants.

Have events such as a pandemic changed the course of your work, or is it a confirmation of the path you have taken?
'I organized a workshop for the postponed exhibition Welcome Home Dragon Fairy & Ox. Voices of South East Asian Diaspora at Art Lab Hilton. I had to redesign the workshop according to social distancing guidelines. I created Sparring Scars, a one-on-one performance and workshop to develop a fictional map of stories about and memories of the Southeast Asian diaspora. This scaling worked well, because talking about these issues (scars, storytelling, trauma, memory) requires a safe space, as well as reassurance that the participant has control over the environment. For example, the workshops were transformed into ceremonies that took place at home or in my studio on the IJzerblok.'

How have corona and the measures that limited contact and movement influenced your view of the world?
'For the past two years we have lived in an alienating reality. We were locked in our living quarters, but despite the bizarre circumstances we found ourselves in, the world of the work process went on without taking time to mentally or emotionally process the circumstances. On the other hand, there were beautiful artistic initiatives around me that addressed those aspects with their work, that emphasized slowness and contemplation, that brought people together, online and in studio spaces. Looking forward to the world emerging from the pandemic, I emphasize aspects of slowness and contemplation in my artistic production and at the core of my process as a storyteller.'

You organized performative workshops for the public to participate in. Did you encounter practical problems and how did you solve them?
'I presented my workshop for the online Non Native Native Fair as early as June of 2021. Unfortunately, the response to something as abstract as a 'performative workshop' was not well received. So I thought about another way to connect with my audience. The framework of the project turned into a ceremony, tailored to each participant. The project itself requires a high degree of vulnerability and intimacy, which is translated into ceremonial acts. It starts with an invitation, usually addressed to participants I already know. They receive an email with several questions that help me adapt the workshop to the needs of the participants. On the day of the workshop, they perform intimate and symbolic gestures, which later become part of their performance. I perform my performance Waterfalls from. A number of exercises are done, for example a mental exercise through imaginary space. One hour is allotted for storytelling and creating an object that will later be scanned in 3D. I realize that when you're working with topics like trauma, scars, memory, and diaspora, it's important to personalize each process. I intend to adapt the ceremony to each participating individual. So far I have worked with four participants. This is a big difference from the original target I had set of fifty participants by the end of 2021! This project no longer has to end within a projected timeline, although I hope to reach twelve participants by the end of 2022.”

The PPR was a work contribution, intended as support during extreme circumstances. Has it proved useful for your practice?
'Given the circumstances, the PPR was important, especially because my project revolves around a sense of privacy and personalization, something that would usually not qualify for subsidy support from the government or CBK Rotterdam. These subsidies seem to take into account the expected size of the public. This grant was valuable because during the development of my project I experience how works of art and art processes can exist within intimate forms of interaction. I am a social practitioner with an approach that is therapeutic rather than academic or activist. There is strength in this gentle and poetic way of working as well as in cultivating a personal relationship with each participant. The processes I work with Waterfalls and Sparring Scars have ultimately helped shape my artistic practice.' 

Temporary work contribution PPR
Om artists during the corona lockdowns to help maintain their professional practice, launched CBK Rotterdam de Ttemporary Wacknowledgment Production, Presentation en Research (PPR) about this visual artists can are signed up at CBK Rotterdam. Divided into two rounds in 2020 in 2021 finally received bijna two hundred artists a contribution. The result of the temporary work contribution is bundled in a publication in which we, together with a few artists, look back and look forward. This is one of fifteen interviews from the publication.

Text: Machteld Leij
Photo: Mark Bolk