Melati Suryodarmo
Indonesia
b. 1969, Surakarta, Indonesia
Lives and works in Surakarta, Indonesia
Melati Suryodarmo is a leading performance artist known for her powerful durational works exploring endurance, memory, and identity. Rooted in rigorous embodied research, her practice extends into photography, choreography, video and live performance, engaging themes of displacement, transformation, and collective history. She has exhibited worldwide, including at Kiasma, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Seoul), the National Art Center Tokyo, the Bonnefanten Museum (Maastricht), and the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) (Brisbane). She fosters experimental art practices as the founder of Studio Plesungan in Solo, Indonesia, and as a lecturer at Singapore’s Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. Suryodarmo served as Artistic Director of the 17th Jakarta Biennale (2017) and since 2022, has led Indonesia Bertutur, a festival celebrating cultural heritage and performance.
Eins Und Eins (2016)
I’m a Ghost in My Own House (2012)
Why Let the Chicken Run (2001)