9 May 2025
I really wanted to recreate the memories that are sparked from when I think of home. These pieces aren’t a reflection of the memories themselves, but rather of their attachments and what they bring to mind.
Places like Inala and Sunnybank…I’m attached to them. When you visit them, the materials and textures that are seen across the market are vibrant and bold. A mixture between machine-made heavy plastics and how they play with natural materials. When I placed all these images and textures together I was constantly reminded of the offerings found across Balinese culture, ‘banten’. Offerings are found in peoples homes, on the street and in the temples - consisting of foods, florals and some incense. They are an act of service and sacrifice, an offering of oneself and time to the divine.
My work serves as an expression of my gratitude and an offering of myself to the present moment.
Nikki-Rianna grew up in Morningside. Her house had a temple next to the front gate - they were both made by hand. Her family would use the temple quite often... leaving offerings for particular gods on particular days. More casually, they would leave small offerings daily, consisting of what they were eating for dinner, fruits or treats they had in the home, accompanied by flowers from the garden and nag champa.
At night in front of the temple, her family would say some things she wouldn’t really understand, in a language that sounded familiar but lost of meaning... a type of prayer. She only knew it was coming to an end because droplets of water were sprinkled onto her with the garden flower. They were asked to take a few sips and say Om Swastiastu. It was then time to go inside for dinner... probably spaghetti bolognese.
