Letters scattered irregularly in blue and red appeared on the surface and blended with the scrap metal around it. I found these objects at a secondhand shop in Bantul – Yogyakarta. The letters are then collected and rearranged to form the phrase ‘Sumber Air’ (Water Sources). A brief conversation with the seller revealed there was no information about the origins of these finds, only that this artifact could have come from a shop or business that had closed or changed its name. The naming of a shop or place of business is always followed by best wishes for its future success; this is what drew my attention to resurrecting this sign in my work.
‘Sumber Air’ is a language term that means spring, well, or pond. The meaning of the words that appear is very closely related to nature, it’s no wonder that the source of water or springs is commonly associated with the source of life or hope. Then I deformed the letters and the word ‘Sumber Air’ to form a cross shape that represented each other. The final letter configuration is then fortified by the addition of eye-catching paper colors that resemble the shape and texture of minerals or rocks. This work is an invitation to question and reinterpret the term ‘Sumber Air’, in the context of climate change caused by global warming, water sources can also mean a disaster. Changes in human lifestyle and behavior will be followed by changes in the shape of the universe, as indicated by flash floods, rising sea levels, and melting ice at the North Pole.
Photograph and sign, 2021
