https://tiyanbaker.com Tiyan Baker Wed, 24 Jun 2026 23:18:37 +0000 https://tiyanbaker.com en https://tiyanbaker.com/To-tangle-together-like-coursing-water-2026 Wed, 24 Jun 2026 23:18:37 +0000 Tiyan Baker https://tiyanbaker.com/To-tangle-together-like-coursing-water-2026 To tangle together like coursing water (video and mnemonic device) ‘To tangle together like coursing water’ (2026) was commissioned by Newcastle Art Gallery, with the support of The Copyright Agency and Create NSW, for the artist’s solo exhibition ‘Mouth Mnemonica’. “This three-channel video is a new commission for Mouth Mnemonica. In this work of art, the artist and her mother conduct a poetic exchange in Bukar which has been filmed with a 360-degree camera from inside their mouths. The dialogue in this video illustrates how deeply vocabulary is linked to place. It functions both as an elegy for her mother’s memories, and a reflection on the challenges Baker faced learning the language separated from the landscape. The unfolding narrative builds a vivid picture of the daily activities of Bidayuh village life, and the values embedded in these experiences. To compose this poem Baker and her mother worked closely with Poems of the Indigenous Peoples of Sarawak: Some of the Songs and Chants, 1973, by the late American poet Carol Rubenstein and the Sarawak Museum. This translated selection of songs and chants by indigenous peoples across Sarawak was collected in the early 1970s.” Artwork text by curator Tulleah Pearce. Artwork details: three channel video, sound, 20:55 mins beaded sculpture - resin cast teeth, lyocell twill, nylon thread, glass beads, vinyl stickers, 600cm x 20cm <img width="5760" height="1080" width_o="5760" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/cd927f580ea54c3ebb67c7632bac60c12dd2beb8606dba4169b4d64458cee023/DELIVERY-SEQ-3CH.00_07_18_24.Still001.jpg" data-mid="249783141" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/cd927f580ea54c3ebb67c7632bac60c12dd2beb8606dba4169b4d64458cee023/DELIVERY-SEQ-3CH.00_07_18_24.Still001.jpg" /> To tangle together like coursing water, 2026,still from video, courtesy of the artist. <img width="5760" height="1080" width_o="5760" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/43470690e8a4c5ddc9b6cb92fa74788a10e13faee607c96761fb5afacd251331/DELIVERY-SEQ-3CH.00_15_47_06.Still003.jpg" data-mid="249783142" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/43470690e8a4c5ddc9b6cb92fa74788a10e13faee607c96761fb5afacd251331/DELIVERY-SEQ-3CH.00_15_47_06.Still003.jpg" /> To tangle together like coursing water, 2026,still from video, courtesy of the artist. <img width="2646" height="1765" width_o="2646" height_o="1765" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c6a082649c07ce39c7fa268dd407da5ba175ca5e99d5e4280b1357c77372eac2/NAG_Exhibitions_260523_Tiyan-Baker_Mouth-Mnemonica_005.jpg" data-mid="249782972" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c6a082649c07ce39c7fa268dd407da5ba175ca5e99d5e4280b1357c77372eac2/NAG_Exhibitions_260523_Tiyan-Baker_Mouth-Mnemonica_005.jpg" /> To tangle together like coursing water, 2026, installation view, Newcastle Art Gallery, NSW. Documentation by Edwina Richards. <img width="2703" height="1803" width_o="2703" height_o="1803" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1783f9ab8dc794765a1cc9bb911a5da89072d40e5c4d6dee97311a0e0825abfc/NAG_Exhibitions_260523_Tiyan-Baker_Mouth-Mnemonica_001.jpg" data-mid="249783176" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/1783f9ab8dc794765a1cc9bb911a5da89072d40e5c4d6dee97311a0e0825abfc/NAG_Exhibitions_260523_Tiyan-Baker_Mouth-Mnemonica_001.jpg" /> To tangle together like coursing water, 2026, installation view, Newcastle Art Gallery, NSW. Documentation by Edwina Richards. “This sculpture is a tactile memory device developed by Baker. It helps Baker and her mother to recall the Bukar words in the dialogue exchanged between them in the accompanying three-channel video. By using this sculpture as a tactile map, Baker and her mother can recall the 329 lines of poetry that comprise the epic narrative of To tangle together like coursing water. This sculpture emerges from Baker’s interest in embodied methods for transferring knowledge between generations and her research into how cultures with oral traditions, and without written language, form collective memory.” Artwork text by curator Tulleah Pearce.<img width="2703" height="1803" width_o="2703" height_o="1803" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/de28bd9e7c605b58881d391a45a9a8a09f5a0576eea30e85bdcf027f361b6ff0/NAG_Exhibitions_260523_Tiyan-Baker_Mouth-Mnemonica_015.jpg" data-mid="249782973" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/de28bd9e7c605b58881d391a45a9a8a09f5a0576eea30e85bdcf027f361b6ff0/NAG_Exhibitions_260523_Tiyan-Baker_Mouth-Mnemonica_015.jpg" /> To tangle together like coursing water (mnemonic device), 2026, installation view, Newcastle Art Gallery, NSW. Documentation by Edwina Richards. <img width="2703" height="1803" width_o="2703" height_o="1803" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/57d1b986d40e809bbddbb3da2f22ffde86bebc53ce8f27b39958ec2b521f7c5a/NAG_Exhibitions_260523_Tiyan-Baker_Mouth-Mnemonica_016.jpg" data-mid="249782974" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/57d1b986d40e809bbddbb3da2f22ffde86bebc53ce8f27b39958ec2b521f7c5a/NAG_Exhibitions_260523_Tiyan-Baker_Mouth-Mnemonica_016.jpg" /> To tangle together like coursing water (mnemonic device), 2026, installation view, Newcastle Art Gallery, NSW. Documentation by Edwina Richards. <img width="2703" height="1803" width_o="2703" height_o="1803" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/86234d1f282ba9c75853acc4f40fe54ee26ad829f7f1c3fd9a5e8950179d3ac2/NAG_Exhibitions_260523_Tiyan-Baker_Mouth-Mnemonica_017.jpg" data-mid="249782975" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/86234d1f282ba9c75853acc4f40fe54ee26ad829f7f1c3fd9a5e8950179d3ac2/NAG_Exhibitions_260523_Tiyan-Baker_Mouth-Mnemonica_017.jpg" /> To tangle together like coursing water (mnemonic device), 2026, detail view, Newcastle Art Gallery, NSW. Documentation by Edwina Richards. https://tiyanbaker.com/UNTITLED-bamboo-love-poems-1-5-2025 Wed, 04 Feb 2026 01:10:36 +0000 Tiyan Baker https://tiyanbaker.com/UNTITLED-bamboo-love-poems-1-5-2025 Untitled (bamboo love poems 1-5) Untitled (bamboo love poems 1-5) (2025) was jointly commissioned by MAC yapang and Bankstown Arts Centre for the group exhibition “Bamboo Entwine as they Grow”, with artists Cindy Yuen Zhe Chen and Sarah Ong. In pre-colonial Indonesia and Malaysia, young people would write love sonnets on bamboo as a kind of courting ritual. In Untitled (bamboo love poems 1-5) Baker attempts to revive the practice of writing love letters on bamboo, as well as the deep oral poetry practice in her mother’s culture, known as Bidayǔh culture, that has now disappeared. Baker has carefully composed these poems by combining ancient records of Bidayǔh poetry, translated by poet Carol Rubenstein in 1973, with writing collected from her own mother. Written as though addressing a familial elder, these poems reflect on the yearning for family, ancestors and land that drives much of Baker’s art practice. As the green bamboo ages and dries in the gallery space, the poems slowly fade, reflecting the erosion of Bidayǔh language and culture. Artwork details: bamboo, wood, paint dimensions variable <img width="6240" height="4160" width_o="6240" height_o="4160" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/24807d7f533ea5bb20c4a81c24a7c7a28eb4f49f003f9d7127bd1e4c51f6296b/BE-30.jpg" data-mid="244405506" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/24807d7f533ea5bb20c4a81c24a7c7a28eb4f49f003f9d7127bd1e4c51f6296b/BE-30.jpg" /> Untitled (bamboo love poems 1-5), 2025,&nbsp;installation view, Bankstown Arts Centre, NSW. Documentation by Dean Qiulin Li . <img width="6240" height="4160" width_o="6240" height_o="4160" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e577f37a102cbd739c66502ec18d2002722f55b4eea7800cc9995d1e8fa7c41b/BE-31.jpg" data-mid="244405507" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e577f37a102cbd739c66502ec18d2002722f55b4eea7800cc9995d1e8fa7c41b/BE-31.jpg" /> Untitled (bamboo love poems 1-5), 2025, installation view, Bankstown Arts Centre, NSW. Documentation by Dean Qiulin Li. <img width="6240" height="4160" width_o="6240" height_o="4160" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/feb0fe4f8832b30a419173a09105910def4072ab46c8b15991388e9da730f8aa/BE-45.jpg" data-mid="244405508" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/feb0fe4f8832b30a419173a09105910def4072ab46c8b15991388e9da730f8aa/BE-45.jpg" /> Untitled (bamboo love poems 1-5), 2025, installation detail, Bankstown Arts Centre, NSW. Documentation by Dean Qiulin Li. <img width="6240" height="4160" width_o="6240" height_o="4160" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c6db272504eaba48bd8c32907cb2a12e022979c10a3c928ca119e896ec01a3cc/BE-46.jpg" data-mid="244405509" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c6db272504eaba48bd8c32907cb2a12e022979c10a3c928ca119e896ec01a3cc/BE-46.jpg" /> Untitled (bamboo love poems 1-5), 2025, installation detail, Bankstown Arts Centre, NSW. Documentation by Dean Qiulin Li. <img width="5000" height="3333" width_o="5000" height_o="3333" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/35c68f5825785f0315898c5b632bd3706884a2bc22c39d1baf421e4caebfd66e/20260106-MAC-Bamboo-Entwine-013.jpg" data-mid="244405491" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/35c68f5825785f0315898c5b632bd3706884a2bc22c39d1baf421e4caebfd66e/20260106-MAC-Bamboo-Entwine-013.jpg" /> Untitled (bamboo love poems 1-5), 2025, installation view, MAC yapang, NSW. Documentation by Chantel Bann. <img width="5000" height="3333" width_o="5000" height_o="3333" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/27609dbbc3b2d83b2ecb193456db4e8378528397c9d5269bea52a3632173da5f/20260106-MAC-Bamboo-Entwine-014.jpg" data-mid="244405493" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/27609dbbc3b2d83b2ecb193456db4e8378528397c9d5269bea52a3632173da5f/20260106-MAC-Bamboo-Entwine-014.jpg" /> Untitled (bamboo love poems 1-5), 2025, installation view, MAC yapang, NSW. Documentation by Chantel Bann. https://tiyanbaker.com/PLAYER-COUNT-ONE-2025 Wed, 26 Oct 2022 13:51:55 +0000 Tiyan Baker https://tiyanbaker.com/PLAYER-COUNT-ONE-2025 Player Count One: Studies of Bung Sadung in Fortnite Player Count One: Studies of Bung Sadung in Fortnite (2025) was commissioned by Goolagatup Heathcote as part of the 2023 Digital Art Prize. It exhibited at Goolagatup Heathcote in February-March 2025 as part of a duo show “Fall Damage”, in collaboration with artist Jason Phu. It also exhibited at the Australia Centre of Moving Image as part of Game Worlds from September 2025 to March 2026, and is currently touring as part of that show. “Using topographical data of her mother’s ancestral homeland in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, Baker’s custom Fortnite map honours and memorialises the Bung Sadung mountain range and its surrounding villages, which are known as the heartland of Bukar Bidayǔh people. Escaping from the political reality of having no right to own ancestral land due to Malaysian racial laws, her custom map and inventory items are the first in a series of works made in and for Fortnite, that allow her the pleasure of living and building on her virtual Indigenous lands.” Artwork details: 1. Tiyan Baker, Building a longhouse at the site of the first Bukar Bidayǔh settlement, 2025, digital video, sound, bamboo, nuts, bolts, sisal rope, wire 2. Tiyan Baker, Ancestral longhouse - view from inside topography at night, 2025, digital print mounted on dibond. 3. Tiyan Baker, Ancestral longhouse - view from inside topography at midday, 2025, digital print mounted on dibond. 4. Tiyan Baker, Ancestral longhouse - birds eye view in the morning, 2025, digital print mounted on dibond. 5. Tiyan Baker, Ra-ung (sunhat): custom umbrella design for Fortnite, 2025, polystyrene, resin, acrylic paint, canvas, wooden dowel, bamboo, various lace trim and ribbon, wooden beads, bias binding, seaweed twine 6. Tiyan Baker, Ra-ung (sunhat): custom umbrella design for Fortnite, 2025, digital print mounted on dibond. 7. Tiyan Baker, Durian bomb: custom shockwave grenade design for Fortnite, 2025, 3D print, cast resin, dye. 8. Tiyan Baker, Top view of Bung Sadung and surrounding villages, 2025, digital print mounted on dibond. 3D Artist and Technical Lead: Jean Luc-Schmid Seamstress: Rhona Manning (my mum) <img width="3000" height="2000" width_o="3000" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ddce7b12596917d3694e3f0ee66a61cad7414d0047068e08b7b636d06c548c5b/Goolugatup_ExDoc_AC_Feb25_Fall-Damage_Screen_1.jpg" data-mid="229188602" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ddce7b12596917d3694e3f0ee66a61cad7414d0047068e08b7b636d06c548c5b/Goolugatup_ExDoc_AC_Feb25_Fall-Damage_Screen_1.jpg" /> Player Count One: Studies of Bung Sadung in Fortnite , 2025,&nbsp;installation view, Goolagatup Heathcote, WA. Documentation by Aaron Claringbold. <img width="1333" height="2000" width_o="1333" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/27115b8904ce4cd95142b99ad2fad38f8ec66fce6b44c00e9b4ea52a505723a1/Goolugatup_ExDoc_AC_Feb25_Fall-Damage_Screen_13.jpg" data-mid="229188606" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/27115b8904ce4cd95142b99ad2fad38f8ec66fce6b44c00e9b4ea52a505723a1/Goolugatup_ExDoc_AC_Feb25_Fall-Damage_Screen_13.jpg" /> Ra-ung (sunhat): custom umbrella design for Fortnite, 2025, installation view, Goolagatup Heathcote, WA. Documentation by Aaron Claringbold. <img width="1333" height="2000" width_o="1333" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2c247d76d94e24c435784020bee927753bb6b282e1b2deac322d8eccd91f1214/Goolugatup_ReShoot_AC_Screen_4.jpg" data-mid="229188615" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2c247d76d94e24c435784020bee927753bb6b282e1b2deac322d8eccd91f1214/Goolugatup_ReShoot_AC_Screen_4.jpg" /> Durian bomb: custom shockwave grenade design for Fortnite, 2025, installation view, Goolagatup Heathcote, WA. Documentation by Aaron Claringbold. <img width="3000" height="2000" width_o="3000" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/dfe837be8ad88903b3b5b05df3dbc7b3f56ab745ba1808dc521ec400af1aa25c/Goolugatup_ExDoc_AC_Feb25_Fall-Damage_Screen_21.jpg" data-mid="229188613" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/dfe837be8ad88903b3b5b05df3dbc7b3f56ab745ba1808dc521ec400af1aa25c/Goolugatup_ExDoc_AC_Feb25_Fall-Damage_Screen_21.jpg" /> Building a longhouse at the site of the first Bukar Bidayǔh settlement, 2025, installation view, Goolagatup Heathcote, WA. Documentation by Aaron Claringbold. <img width="3000" height="2000" width_o="3000" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1f11c38266275fcd6aa40eed3c0843e959d789d74c53e8eed8b0787b3a700fe5/Goolugatup_ExDoc_AC_Feb25_Fall-Damage_Screen_18.jpg" data-mid="229188611" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/1f11c38266275fcd6aa40eed3c0843e959d789d74c53e8eed8b0787b3a700fe5/Goolugatup_ExDoc_AC_Feb25_Fall-Damage_Screen_18.jpg" /> Top view of Bung Sadung and surrounding villages, 2025, installation view, Goolagatup Heathcote, WA. Documentation by Aaron Claringbold. <img width="3000" height="2000" width_o="3000" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/63bcdd5d337360e0bae1f4d85ae8d755215c28d8c24f1139ecdb1210716c5296/Goolugatup_ExDoc_AC_Feb25_Fall-Damage_Screen_19.jpg" data-mid="229188612" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/63bcdd5d337360e0bae1f4d85ae8d755215c28d8c24f1139ecdb1210716c5296/Goolugatup_ExDoc_AC_Feb25_Fall-Damage_Screen_19.jpg" /> Ra-ung (sunhat): custom umbrella design for Fortnite, 2025, installation view, Goolagatup Heathcote, WA. Documentation by Aaron Claringbold. <img width="3000" height="2000" width_o="3000" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/90c2c8cf8290208b2fbda1d8b26558769856d8cbfda05bb04efb40a11716f88a/Goolugatup_ExDoc_AC_Feb25_Fall-Damage_Screen_9.jpg" data-mid="229188605" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/90c2c8cf8290208b2fbda1d8b26558769856d8cbfda05bb04efb40a11716f88a/Goolugatup_ExDoc_AC_Feb25_Fall-Damage_Screen_9.jpg" /> Player Count One: Studies of Bung Sadung in Fortnite, 2025, detail view, Goolagatup Heathcote, WA. Documentation by Aaron Claringbold. <img width="3000" height="2000" width_o="3000" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3462d205eb95a5f1dfe6c5ea2e266121082343a3e647b88fae9b5b88522309d7/Goolugatup_ExDoc_AC_Feb25_Fall-Damage_Screen_17.jpg" data-mid="229188610" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/3462d205eb95a5f1dfe6c5ea2e266121082343a3e647b88fae9b5b88522309d7/Goolugatup_ExDoc_AC_Feb25_Fall-Damage_Screen_17.jpg" /> Ancestral longhouse - view from inside topography at night, 2025, installation view, Goolagatup Heathcote, WA. Documentation by Aaron Claringbold. <img width="3000" height="2000" width_o="3000" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/75ffeb94247edb7c9f5c8f5085da3164334916b76ced7978acdd23cc9f399f6b/Goolugatup_ExDoc_AC_Feb25_Fall-Damage_Screen_16.jpg" data-mid="229188609" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/75ffeb94247edb7c9f5c8f5085da3164334916b76ced7978acdd23cc9f399f6b/Goolugatup_ExDoc_AC_Feb25_Fall-Damage_Screen_16.jpg" /> Ancestral longhouse - view from inside topography at midday, 2025, installation view, installation view, Goolagatup Heathcote, WA. Documentation by Aaron Claringbold. <img width="3000" height="2000" width_o="3000" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ec9eba91a7c199a201a1df5ec06e0f94d5284eba87e30938c88e0e64d4407216/Goolugatup_ExDoc_AC_Feb25_Fall-Damage_Screen_15.jpg" data-mid="229188608" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ec9eba91a7c199a201a1df5ec06e0f94d5284eba87e30938c88e0e64d4407216/Goolugatup_ExDoc_AC_Feb25_Fall-Damage_Screen_15.jpg" /> Ancestral longhouse - birds eye view in the morning, 2025, installation view, installation view, Goolagatup Heathcote, WA. Documentation by Aaron Claringbold. https://tiyanbaker.com/OUR-BAMBOO-2025 Thu, 12 Jun 2025 04:45:32 +0000 Tiyan Baker https://tiyanbaker.com/OUR-BAMBOO-2025 Our bamboo ‘Our bamboo’ (2025) or ‘buru’ taring Bidayǔh’ was originally commissioned by artist Jill Morgan as part of the exhibition catalogue ‘Seed’ (2025). In ‘Our bamboo’, artist Tiyan Baker documents some of the varied uses of bamboo in her community - the Bukar Bidayǔh people of south-western Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. ‘Our bamboo’ is a lush, verdant celebration of bamboo as an abundant and versatile material, that symbolises Bukar Bidayǔh resourcefulness, creativity and connection to land. Written and illustrated by Tiyan Baker Graphic design by Alanna Roy Bentley <img width="6000" height="4000" width_o="6000" height_o="4000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2c75c1a34f65277c0c280136ec0785cda3f9fb4dd8c136d9ba3a8fd8b881f11f/TIYAN0149.jpg" data-mid="234490285" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2c75c1a34f65277c0c280136ec0785cda3f9fb4dd8c136d9ba3a8fd8b881f11f/TIYAN0149.jpg" /> <img width="6000" height="4000" width_o="6000" height_o="4000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ddd10f2a2abe4eb4f8098870627a43d15380c2f6ee155be439b8fe7eeb8e9585/TIYAN0047.jpg" data-mid="234490287" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ddd10f2a2abe4eb4f8098870627a43d15380c2f6ee155be439b8fe7eeb8e9585/TIYAN0047.jpg" /> <img width="6000" height="4000" width_o="6000" height_o="4000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c8e2b58da6064744d38dcc6798587a2cef47ef7bbd29635b571644a833f63555/TIYAN0054.jpg" data-mid="234490288" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c8e2b58da6064744d38dcc6798587a2cef47ef7bbd29635b571644a833f63555/TIYAN0054.jpg" /> <img width="6000" height="4000" width_o="6000" height_o="4000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/35aeb730d73b085b1f399a88769ad0b49fc3193f0c044d0f00768b9c94c87db5/TIYAN0074.jpg" data-mid="234490290" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/35aeb730d73b085b1f399a88769ad0b49fc3193f0c044d0f00768b9c94c87db5/TIYAN0074.jpg" /> https://tiyanbaker.com/PERSONAL-COMPUTER-RAMIN-NTAANGAN-2022-2023 Thu, 03 Apr 2025 03:14:40 +0000 Tiyan Baker https://tiyanbaker.com/PERSONAL-COMPUTER-RAMIN-NTAANGAN-2022-2023 Personal Computer : ramin ntaangan Personal computer : ramin ntaangan (2022-2023) was commissioned by The Lock Up for ‘PLAYGROUND’, curated by Holly Farrell. It exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art as part of ‘Primavera 2023: Young Australian Artists’. Personal Computer : ramin ntaangan (2022-2023) features a custom PC built by the artist in the style of a Bidayǔh longhouse. Longhouses were large, raised communal homes built by Indigenous communities in Borneo. Constructed from forest materials, longhouses were once the heart of Bidayǔh life and knowledge, but since colonisation most have been demolished and replaced with Western-style housing. Those few that remain are continually evolving, hybrid structures, built using native hardwoods with extensions in concrete and tile. As an isolated Bidayǔh woman living far from ancestral lands, much of Baker’s research and connection with culture is maintained through her digital life - on Facebook groups, Whatsapp chats with friends and family and using internet searches. Baker has imagined her computer as a personal trove of references - a knowledge machine that enshrines her connection to culture. Conceived of as an iterative project that undergoes continual adjustment and customisation, Baker’s custom longhouse PC imagines the intersection of her digital life and her Bidayǔh heritage as deeply treasured and full of world-building potential.&nbsp; Artwork details:computer parts, computer monitors, screensaver videos, bamboo, timber, palm and coconut leaf, plastic twine, heirloom machete, sunflower seeds,&nbsp;LED lighting, foam, paint, lucky bambooBlender animation by Jean-Luc Schmid. <img width="2878" height="1920" width_o="2878" height_o="1920" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/18c58e36cd6c9bdba59c812282686b3338779d456a4c925172339a1d924cb6c7/MCAPrimavera2023FullSuitephotoZanWimberley-013-2.jpg" data-mid="229187318" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/18c58e36cd6c9bdba59c812282686b3338779d456a4c925172339a1d924cb6c7/MCAPrimavera2023FullSuitephotoZanWimberley-013-2.jpg" /> Personal computer : ramin ntaangan, 2022-2023, installation view, Museum of Contemporary Art, NSW. Documentation by Zan Wimberley. <img width="1292" height="1920" width_o="1292" height_o="1920" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e9325234d18e9baaadc7c727d02d551095dacf973cadb7cf393e91564c05c4d9/MCAPrimavera2023FullSuitephotoZanWimberley-012-2.jpg" data-mid="229187319" border="0" data-scale="72" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e9325234d18e9baaadc7c727d02d551095dacf973cadb7cf393e91564c05c4d9/MCAPrimavera2023FullSuitephotoZanWimberley-012-2.jpg" />Personal computer : ramin ntaangan, 2022-2023, detail view, Museum of Contemporary Art, NSW. Documentation by Zan Wimberley. <img width="1371" height="1920" width_o="1371" height_o="1920" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f64e8710248e69aea0d4ae9213ef487fb4a9496a4d68b4801d54fd26aa9f3bb8/MCAPrimavera2023FullSuitephotoZanWimberley-011-2.jpg" data-mid="229187320" border="0" data-scale="72" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f64e8710248e69aea0d4ae9213ef487fb4a9496a4d68b4801d54fd26aa9f3bb8/MCAPrimavera2023FullSuitephotoZanWimberley-011-2.jpg" />Personal computer : ramin ntaangan, 2022-2023, installation view, Museum of Contemporary Art, NSW. Documentation by Zan Wimberley. <img width="4096" height="2732" width_o="4096" height_o="2732" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c47646cd736dc63f7fe5aca3d81001bde9887be1daa88b95329a4b254010063a/Playground_118.jpeg" data-mid="229187312" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c47646cd736dc63f7fe5aca3d81001bde9887be1daa88b95329a4b254010063a/Playground_118.jpeg" /> Personal computer : ramin ntaangan, 2022, installation view, The Lock Up, NSW. Documentation by Ben Adams. <img width="8192" height="5464" width_o="8192" height_o="5464" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ab2107697bb76f6fc3d906a9672f543738732d01e71220a21e966214246bd130/Playground_117.jpeg" data-mid="229187313" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ab2107697bb76f6fc3d906a9672f543738732d01e71220a21e966214246bd130/Playground_117.jpeg" /> Personal computer : ramin ntaangan, 2022, installation view, The Lock Up, NSW. Documentation by Ben Adams. <img width="4096" height="2732" width_o="4096" height_o="2732" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/622dfd5d36bd2faf269f81c2eadff00059610002898ff1e753764c176010f3f5/Playground_119.jpeg" data-mid="229187314" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/622dfd5d36bd2faf269f81c2eadff00059610002898ff1e753764c176010f3f5/Playground_119.jpeg" />Personal computer : ramin ntaangan, 2022, detail, The Lock Up, NSW. Documentation by Ben Adams. <img width="4096" height="2732" width_o="4096" height_o="2732" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/690d87979549195b1aafdbdaf94eb768440afcc1cb28a653e8a10ede73a8cef5/Playground_122.jpeg" data-mid="229187316" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/690d87979549195b1aafdbdaf94eb768440afcc1cb28a653e8a10ede73a8cef5/Playground_122.jpeg" />Personal computer : ramin ntaangan, 2022, detail, The Lock Up, NSW. Documentation by Ben Adams. <img width="1366" height="2048" width_o="1366" height_o="2048" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0ad0f7fcfe2e82f0d3729a99ee661531bd0875aa82e1bcd449e6042a5d0edf55/Playground_121.jpeg" data-mid="229187317" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/0ad0f7fcfe2e82f0d3729a99ee661531bd0875aa82e1bcd449e6042a5d0edf55/Playground_121.jpeg" />Personal computer : ramin ntaangan, 2022, detail, The Lock Up, NSW. Documentation by Ben Adams. <img width="4096" height="2732" width_o="4096" height_o="2732" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c2138ab9a1937653820143891abfd39e2163130ea9cfe85f8ed3a5547d390c03/Playground_116.jpeg" data-mid="229187315" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c2138ab9a1937653820143891abfd39e2163130ea9cfe85f8ed3a5547d390c03/Playground_116.jpeg" /> Personal computer : ramin ntaangan, 2022, installation view, The Lock Up, NSW. Documentation by Ben Adams. https://tiyanbaker.com/mouthbreather-2023 Mon, 17 Jul 2023 02:00:23 +0000 Tiyan Baker https://tiyanbaker.com/mouthbreather-2023 mouthbreather mouthbreather (2023) was commissioned by the Institute of Modern Art and Nowness Asia for ‘Now You’re Speakin’ My Language’, curated by Kate ten Buuren. “Tiyan Baker probes the tension between orality and the written word in her journey to reclaim language in the experimental short filmed entirely form the inside of her mouth. In Tiyan Baker's mouthbreather, we witness the world from behind the artist's teeth as she walks across her Ancestral lands and mouths, breathes, calls forth and gives form to a buried language. mouthbreather explores the possibilities of language revival and how language shapes and changes our relationship to land and ways of knowing the world.The film was shot on Baker's&nbsp;mother’s Bidayǔh Country, on a trip to Malaysian-ruled Sarawak, Borneo.&nbsp;In an introduction to the experimental short, Kate ten Buuren, curator of Now You're Speakin' My Language shared, "Since 2019, Tiyan has been relearning her mothertongue Bukar Bidayǔh. By placing the camera in her mouth, Tiyan considers how we wrap our tongues around words to make sounds that we’ve never made, but are held somewhere deep within the memories of our bodies and the land.” - introduction to mouthbreather on Nowness Asia online platformWatch the film here. Artwork details:digital video, 13:09 minutes <img width="3600" height="2401" width_o="3600" height_o="2401" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/39d095872ed5a271a0ddec8a0455ddbdeedb79c95cfc6a8ed5acf303565493ed/Installation-view-of--Lost---Found_-Embodied-Archive-at-SAM-at-Tanjong-Pagar-Distripark.-Image-courtesy-of-Singapore-Art-Museum.jpg" data-mid="221082079" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/39d095872ed5a271a0ddec8a0455ddbdeedb79c95cfc6a8ed5acf303565493ed/Installation-view-of--Lost---Found_-Embodied-Archive-at-SAM-at-Tanjong-Pagar-Distripark.-Image-courtesy-of-Singapore-Art-Museum.jpg" /> mouthbreather, 2023, installation view, Singapore Art Museum. Documentation by Singapore art Museum. <img width="3840" height="2160" width_o="3840" height_o="2160" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8e638d1020aa25b02ba9e44bfb5a4259439f0833a455b89a9746c6165899358a/MOUTHBREATHER_Still004.png" data-mid="185268926" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8e638d1020aa25b02ba9e44bfb5a4259439f0833a455b89a9746c6165899358a/MOUTHBREATHER_Still004.png" /> mouthbreather, 2023, still from video, courtesy of the artist. <img width="3840" height="2160" width_o="3840" height_o="2160" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/552e358b531438b2f89bb2de8fb508a19110fc21c502cc6020738998afa839ae/MOUTHBREATHER_Still005.png" data-mid="185268958" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/552e358b531438b2f89bb2de8fb508a19110fc21c502cc6020738998afa839ae/MOUTHBREATHER_Still005.png" /> mouthbreather, 2023, still from video, courtesy of the artist. <img width="3840" height="2160" width_o="3840" height_o="2160" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e9edf80ae75c7efcabb966dd2793805a5e015b8e05f5c3ec07842f88f72da48d/MOUTHBREATHER_HONOURS-VERSION_STILL-1.png" data-mid="199467623" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e9edf80ae75c7efcabb966dd2793805a5e015b8e05f5c3ec07842f88f72da48d/MOUTHBREATHER_HONOURS-VERSION_STILL-1.png" /> mouthbreather, 2023, still from video, courtesy of the artist. <img width="3840" height="2160" width_o="3840" height_o="2160" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/45acec278ed6044378f73518ca3950bb89694a64ec5d09d878994961149cb386/MOUTHBREATHER_Still010.jpg" data-mid="185269416" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/45acec278ed6044378f73518ca3950bb89694a64ec5d09d878994961149cb386/MOUTHBREATHER_Still010.jpg" />mouthbreather, 2023, still from video, courtesy of the artist. <img width="3840" height="2160" width_o="3840" height_o="2160" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/52f58b853c6ca0c3cf0bfc82d1a877a0e01349b2b05d4193aef5cbd672c8a0e8/MOUTHBREATHER_Still006.png" data-mid="185268959" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/52f58b853c6ca0c3cf0bfc82d1a877a0e01349b2b05d4193aef5cbd672c8a0e8/MOUTHBREATHER_Still006.png" />mouthbreather, 2023, still from video, courtesy of the artist. <img width="3840" height="2160" width_o="3840" height_o="2160" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6ca17bf58138496ece7d01fadd687c14e83fd6428c946ea5e0c2032bccb479d6/MOUTHBREATHER_Still012.jpg" data-mid="185268971" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/6ca17bf58138496ece7d01fadd687c14e83fd6428c946ea5e0c2032bccb479d6/MOUTHBREATHER_Still012.jpg" /> mouthbreather, 2023, still from video, courtesy of the artist. https://tiyanbaker.com/MY-MOTHER-S-TONGUE-2022 Mon, 24 Oct 2022 23:27:07 +0000 Tiyan Baker https://tiyanbaker.com/MY-MOTHER-S-TONGUE-2022 MY MOTHER’S TONGUE&nbsp; My Mother’s Tongue is a solo show that exhibited at Bus Projects in October 2022 and then at Singapore Art Museum in 2024 as part of the group show Lost &amp; Found: Embodied Archives.&nbsp;The work also exhibited as part of the artist’s 2026 solo show “Mouth Mnemonica” at Newcastle Art Gallery, NSW. Artwork details:Foam, epoxy resin, fibreglass mat, sand, water-based epoxy, paint, mica pigment, green food dye, yellow food dye, titanium dioxide, water, miniature water pump, duckweed, projection.Pond carving assisted by sculptor Annika Lee.“This sculpture is an upscaled replica of the artist’s mother’s mouth. Projected onto the water of the pond is a passage from the very first book Baker read in Bukar, Antung dengan Awan. In this epic allegory, the four children of Antung and Awan are instructed to observe specific burial rites for their parents. After following these instructions carefully, the children find the previous barren landscape where their parents are interred quickly grows lush with unfamiliar plants. Despite not having seen these plants before, the youngest sister Labu intrinsically knows the names and uses of these edible and medicinal crops. This story highlights intergenerational inheritance of knowledge and the connection between language and land.” Text written by curator Tulleah Pearce. <img width="3600" height="2400" width_o="3600" height_o="2400" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1cb7111302e3d8d3286558533de6294094027d1223d3d7d81753f3ee6891b32c/Detail-view-of-Tiyan-Bakers-MY-MOTHER-S-TONGUE-2022-as-part-of-Lost---Found_-Embodied-Archive-at-SAM-at-Tanjong-Pagar-Distripark.-Image-courtesy-of-Singapore-Art-Museum.jpg" data-mid="221082164" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/1cb7111302e3d8d3286558533de6294094027d1223d3d7d81753f3ee6891b32c/Detail-view-of-Tiyan-Bakers-MY-MOTHER-S-TONGUE-2022-as-part-of-Lost---Found_-Embodied-Archive-at-SAM-at-Tanjong-Pagar-Distripark.-Image-courtesy-of-Singapore-Art-Museum.jpg" />My mother’s tongue, 2022, detail view, Singapore Art Museum. Photo by Singapore Art Museum. <img width="3600" height="2400" width_o="3600" height_o="2400" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ea1a1005405ecfc4b196b0147c648b730a11cdf8ebad42f34b3c195d4404865b/Installation-view-of-Tiyan-Bakers-MY-MOTHER-S-TONGUE-2022-as-part-of-Lost---Found_-Embodied-Archive-at-SAM-at-Tanjong-Pagar-Distripark.-Image-courtesy-of-Singapore-Art-Museum.jpg" data-mid="221082176" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ea1a1005405ecfc4b196b0147c648b730a11cdf8ebad42f34b3c195d4404865b/Installation-view-of-Tiyan-Bakers-MY-MOTHER-S-TONGUE-2022-as-part-of-Lost---Found_-Embodied-Archive-at-SAM-at-Tanjong-Pagar-Distripark.-Image-courtesy-of-Singapore-Art-Museum.jpg" />My mother’s tongue, 2022, installation view, Singapore Art Museum. Photo by Singapore Art Museum. <img width="3600" height="2401" width_o="3600" height_o="2401" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/165757e43cdcd2f3565e6478c1dca6a83803a47570d3527a63cfb88d145264ff/Installation-view-of--Lost---Found_-Embodied-Archive-at-SAM-at-Tanjong-Pagar-Distripark.-Image-courtesy-of-Singapore-Art-Museum.jpg" data-mid="221082175" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/165757e43cdcd2f3565e6478c1dca6a83803a47570d3527a63cfb88d145264ff/Installation-view-of--Lost---Found_-Embodied-Archive-at-SAM-at-Tanjong-Pagar-Distripark.-Image-courtesy-of-Singapore-Art-Museum.jpg" /> My mother’s tongue, 2022, installation view, Singapore Art Museum. Photo by Singapore Art Museum. Since 2019 I have been learning Bukar - an Indigenous language from Borneo that is also my mother’s native tongue. This is a considerable undertaking. Bukar is spoken only by Bidayǔh people who live in villages at the base of Bung Sadung, a mountain range two hours from Kuching, Sarawak. With very few resources available to me in so-called Australia, I have been relying on Whatsapp chats with my extended family, phone calls with my mother and a single Bukar-English dictionary sent to me by my cousin. I also have a handful of books written in Bukar that recount Bidayǔh origin stories, such as why we use omen birds, why incest is bad, or why you have to ask permission from the land before building a longhouse or making a padi field. This is a map of the Bung Sadung mountain range and its surrounding villages. The highest elevation is 400 metres. Our ancestors are said to have immigrated from what is now Indonesian Borneo, escaping inter-tribal warfare, and settled deep in the mountain range. Over time they moved out and founded villages. This is the heart of Bukar language - an 11 kilometre diameter ring of villages surrounding the Bung Sadung mountain range. At the last census in 2000, over 20 years ago, there were approximately 49 000 Bukar speakers recorded. <img width="1116" height="1012" width_o="1116" height_o="1012" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/06e5699751d83752d08afb27f38542a8c12db081d6b471d5e0ae5487361396b2/Tiyan_MMT_Asset_Map.png" data-mid="157036540" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/06e5699751d83752d08afb27f38542a8c12db081d6b471d5e0ae5487361396b2/Tiyan_MMT_Asset_Map.png" /> This work features a pond carved in the shape of my mother’s mouth. Projected into the pond is a passage from the very first book I ever completed cover-to-cover in Bukar called Antung dengan Awan, an accomplishment I am very proud of. Antung dengan Awan is an epic, multi-part tale about a brother and sister who committed incest and were banished to a land where there were only rocks. After bearing many children, the parents die and their final wishes are to be buried. On top of their graves the children were told to clear the land and make a padi field, but they were told they must not visit the land for four nights. The English translation of the next part of the story goes like this: After four nights, Antung and Awan’s children went to visit the padi field. When they got there, they saw that all kinds of plants were living in the padi field. Not one of them knew the names of these plants and what use they had to human beings. When they returned home they were in a commotion, asking each other what were these strange seedlings that were now living on their padi field. Labu* heard her brothers and sisters talking and said “If you don’t know what these plants are, take me there so that I can see them. Maybe I will know their names and what use they have to humans.” When her brothers and sisters heard this, they carried Labu on their shoulders to the padi field. When they got there, the strange plants were still growing. But Labu knew all of the plants’ names and how humans should use them. They took Labu to their mother’s grave and she said to her brothers and sisters “Oh, look, our mother has transformed into all these plants. This is rice, corn, barley and sesame. This is tapioca, yam, potato, sweet potato, winter melon, cucumber, pumpkin, and many other plants too.” Labu then went on to explain that all of these plants could be eaten and used to sustain human life. The barley plant is the last to ripen in the padi field, so people plant it to use as a fence. When ripened, the barley grain is good to use to make wine and porridge. The other plants were good to use as a vegetable - like cucumber, pumpkin, loofah, winter melon and spinach. Spinach, said Labu, was good to cook with cucumber vine leaves when the leaves are still young. Chilli is good to eat when the leaves are still immature✝, and the fruit is good to use in fermentation. As for winter melon - the fruit is good to use as a vegetable. And when the gourd is still young you can eat it, but when the fruit is old you can use it as a vessel in ceremony. *Labu is the fourth child of brother and sister Antung and Awan. She must be carried around because she was born without arms and legs. She is said to be very beautiful and intelligent, knowing how to speak very early in life. Later she is fought over by two men who start a war for her love. ✝I looked this up - you can eat the leaves when they are young but they must be cooked first. They are said to be delicious. My mother chose not to teach us Bukar. She felt that, in a global economy, this language had no value and we were better off speaking English. But, while relearning Bukar, I have wondered what I may have inherited from her anyway. Even though I was born far from my mother’s ancestral lands, does my mouth know how to make the sounds already? Like Labu, on some level, was I born already knowing the names of things? Does my tongue feel at home when I speak Bukar? Bukar has hundreds of terms for activities that speak to a daily rhythm of moving through the jungle and working intimately with plants. For me, learning these untranslatable and increasingly rarely used words conjures up rich images of pre-colonial Bidayǔh life. Returning to Sarawak and taking in the overwhelming green of the mountainous jungles on Bung Sadung, I believe that Bukar language literally arose from this landscape. Words grew up from the ground, floated downstream in rivers, or shone directly from the equatorial sun onto the wet and muddy forest floor. I believe that the Bang Sadung mountain range is sentient, and gifted Bidayǔh people plants, animals and the words to describe them. Our ancestors picked those words up and used their mouths to pass them on - so that we all may know the world better. <img width="2126" height="1417" width_o="2126" height_o="1417" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/829788a1fe8f024617898da31850e828b3ff2e5ef46b6c0f85f692dcdec4f400/Bus-Projects---29.09.2022-29.10.2022-121.jpg" data-mid="157036982" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/829788a1fe8f024617898da31850e828b3ff2e5ef46b6c0f85f692dcdec4f400/Bus-Projects---29.09.2022-29.10.2022-121.jpg" /> My mother’s tongue, 2022, installation view, Bus Projects, VIC. Photo by Christo Crocker. <img width="2126" height="1417" width_o="2126" height_o="1417" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/91f591f6250e9ce59bb299d4e4f6d47195d57174a7d9b8f535bab8ac5d8616ce/Bus-Projects---29.09.2022-29.10.2022-138.jpg" data-mid="157037224" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/91f591f6250e9ce59bb299d4e4f6d47195d57174a7d9b8f535bab8ac5d8616ce/Bus-Projects---29.09.2022-29.10.2022-138.jpg" />My mother’s tongue, 2022, detail, Bus Projects, VIC. Photo by Christo Crocker. <img width="2126" height="1417" width_o="2126" height_o="1417" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6d04fa57b6410d186517472ad93cb814b7819582c91b6647481c664febb6280d/Bus-Projects---29.09.2022-29.10.2022-156.jpg" data-mid="157037242" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/6d04fa57b6410d186517472ad93cb814b7819582c91b6647481c664febb6280d/Bus-Projects---29.09.2022-29.10.2022-156.jpg" />My mother’s tongue, 2022, detail, Bus Projects, VIC. Photo by Christo Crocker. <img width="2126" height="1417" width_o="2126" height_o="1417" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/48526a5387b2572e47acf573a4414cc3825fc49723ce6428ad5c83d3147da2cb/Bus-Projects---29.09.2022-29.10.2022-169.jpg" data-mid="157037273" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/48526a5387b2572e47acf573a4414cc3825fc49723ce6428ad5c83d3147da2cb/Bus-Projects---29.09.2022-29.10.2022-169.jpg" /> My mother’s tongue, 2022, installation view, Bus Projects, VIC. Photo by Christo Crocker. https://tiyanbaker.com/INVOCATION-TO-BE-VISITED-BY-A-CROCODILE-2022 Mon, 25 Jul 2022 02:04:38 +0000 Tiyan Baker https://tiyanbaker.com/INVOCATION-TO-BE-VISITED-BY-A-CROCODILE-2022 INVOCATION TO BE VISITED BY A CROCODILE Invocation to be visited by a crocodile (2022) was commissioned by La Trobe Art Institute for ‘Personal mythologies’, curated by Sophia Cai. “...the works of Tiyan Baker and Jenna Lee show us that cultural storytelling contains multitudes of experiences; it is neither singular nor static. Baker’s sculptures and prints follow her ongoing research into the significance of crocodiles in ancestral storytelling in Southeast Asia. For Personal mythologies, Baker has created a family of three textile crocodile effigies embellished with beads and text, which also feature in a series of black and white photographic portraits with the artist, captured using a night-vision hunting camera. The colonial view of crocodiles as a predatory threat is implied through the use of this camera technology, creating a sense of unease and distance between the viewer and the subject. For Baker, the crocodile occupies an imaginative space of both cultural and personal significance, offering her a way to connect to her Bidayǔh heritage as well as her hometown of Darwin.” - written by Sophia Cai for the ‘Personal mythologies’ exhibition essay.🐊 One time my mum told me that a as child she and her friends used to swim with crocodiles in the local swamps🐊 Many Dayak peoples have a pact of mutual protection and indebtedness with crocodiles. Crocodiles feature heavily in Dayak art and storytelling🐊 Colonists in Sarawak hated the crocodiles, believing they have a taste for white man's blood. In the early years they hunted crocodiles to near extinction, sending their skulls back to museums in Europe🐊 This year I have started having recurring nightmares about be hunted by crocodiles Artwork details:thread, fabric, beads, pearl, hair, teeth and other mixed media pigment prints on photo paper <img width="2000" height="1334" width_o="2000" height_o="1334" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4c41d10af6ee8b589dab51a04e2827972ad8acc0e0b8b76379ac2b25d3cbdac3/latrobe.15.07.22_8011.jpg" data-mid="148681536" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/4c41d10af6ee8b589dab51a04e2827972ad8acc0e0b8b76379ac2b25d3cbdac3/latrobe.15.07.22_8011.jpg" />Invocation to be visited by a crocodile, 2022, installation view, La Trobe Art Institute, VIC. Photo by Leon Schoots. <img width="2000" height="1334" width_o="2000" height_o="1334" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0d3685309d1e241a43673e59f921efb9cf2c4948a784d96ec5e520db45147fac/latrobe.15.07.22_8015.jpg" data-mid="148681537" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/0d3685309d1e241a43673e59f921efb9cf2c4948a784d96ec5e520db45147fac/latrobe.15.07.22_8015.jpg" /> Invocation to be visited by a crocodile, 2022, installation view, La Trobe Art Institute, VIC. Photo by Leon Schoots. <img width="2000" height="1334" width_o="2000" height_o="1334" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a5656fef42a68c80dc4a53e41e072d05ad80473612b9f52afcce9c02a9ed7ced/latrobe.15.07.22_8027.jpg" data-mid="148681538" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a5656fef42a68c80dc4a53e41e072d05ad80473612b9f52afcce9c02a9ed7ced/latrobe.15.07.22_8027.jpg" />Invocation to be visited by a crocodile, 2022, installation view, La Trobe Art Institute, VIC. Photo by Leon Schoots. <img width="2000" height="1334" width_o="2000" height_o="1334" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/00c37679ca76b1da802a11518dbb0b467404db334ab0ad5ce530933f15c3ef01/latrobe.15.07.22_8030.jpg" data-mid="148681539" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/00c37679ca76b1da802a11518dbb0b467404db334ab0ad5ce530933f15c3ef01/latrobe.15.07.22_8030.jpg" /> Invocation to be visited by a crocodile, 2022, installation view, La Trobe Art Institute, VIC. Photo by Leon Schoots.<img width="4435" height="2457" width_o="4435" height_o="2457" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2c57b789731b3c2c38eaea4c5e1d09ef689d528cc9d15ec104b604ebc50a4270/IM_00575-3-copy-2.jpg" data-mid="148681659" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2c57b789731b3c2c38eaea4c5e1d09ef689d528cc9d15ec104b604ebc50a4270/IM_00575-3-copy-2.jpg" /> Invocation to be visited by a crocodile, 2022, photo courtesy of the artist. <img width="4435" height="2458" width_o="4435" height_o="2458" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4fe8211ed50e94cacbf43a004e2bd547e88b6477bb5fe54300a5b9ffaa6731ae/IM_00652-1-copy-2.jpg" data-mid="148681670" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/4fe8211ed50e94cacbf43a004e2bd547e88b6477bb5fe54300a5b9ffaa6731ae/IM_00652-1-copy-2.jpg" />Invocation to be visited by a crocodile, 2022, photo courtesy of the artist. <img width="2957" height="1639" width_o="2957" height_o="1639" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/88cda166e20aa46ea9030ecbbd58f38963db318073399d1ff6d5b03b6b7fa75b/IM_00724-1-copy2.jpg" data-mid="148681672" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/88cda166e20aa46ea9030ecbbd58f38963db318073399d1ff6d5b03b6b7fa75b/IM_00724-1-copy2.jpg" /> Invocation to be visited by a crocodile, 2022, photo courtesy of the artist. <img width="3696" height="2047" width_o="3696" height_o="2047" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2733da2dd7df1fb865923ba4258229de00b8ac4a3e85497b7431e776450db763/IM_00278-3-copy-2.jpg" data-mid="148682144" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2733da2dd7df1fb865923ba4258229de00b8ac4a3e85497b7431e776450db763/IM_00278-3-copy-2.jpg" />Invocation to be visited by a crocodile, 2022, photo courtesy of the artist. https://tiyanbaker.com/HEAD-PARTY-2022 Thu, 21 Apr 2022 06:43:14 +0000 Tiyan Baker https://tiyanbaker.com/HEAD-PARTY-2022 HEAD PARTY Head Party (2022) was commissioned by Sydney College of Art Gallery for ‘a park is not a forest’, curated by Salote Tawale. Head Party (2022) reinterprets customs related to gawai ba’ak (which translates to head party in English), a welcoming ceremony that follows a headhunt. Headhunting is a traditional practice among Bidayǔh and other Indigenous peoples in Borneo, outlawed by the British in the 19th century. Following the headhunt, a ceremony was held to invite the slain enemy into a long-lasting friendship and to appease the spirits of the dead so that they would safeguard the village longhouse. Drawing from her family's history as durian farmers, Baker replaces skulls with preserved durian and uses community archives, oral histories, and online resources to fill the gaps found in official archives. Creating part of the work in collaboration with her mother, she reimagines gawai ba’ak in a contemporary context to undo Western notions of death, enmity, friendship and warfare.Artwork details: durian, rope, string, fabric, thread, wire, coins, bells, beads, bamboo, vinyl, bowls and platters, sunflower seeds, fruit, resin teeth, hair, durian cookies, back scratcher, hand-rolled cigarette, ash tray, spoon, paper doilies <img width="1080" height="1512" width_o="1080" height_o="1512" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5d5cc28f642d1c74ba738f5c46934eac88ff856945cc2b8f8f844989354117fd/SCA-SPINAF_Install_Document-Photography-March-22-web-7.jpg" data-mid="140240315" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5d5cc28f642d1c74ba738f5c46934eac88ff856945cc2b8f8f844989354117fd/SCA-SPINAF_Install_Document-Photography-March-22-web-7.jpg" /> Head Party, 2022, installation detail, SCA Gallery, NSW. Photo by Document Photography. <img width="1620" height="1080" width_o="1620" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4a565c58671e945af3212b759c50800f99154ee10fe6fe42adba242af35bf624/SCA-SPINAF_Install_Document-Photography-March-22-web-6.jpg" data-mid="140240305" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/4a565c58671e945af3212b759c50800f99154ee10fe6fe42adba242af35bf624/SCA-SPINAF_Install_Document-Photography-March-22-web-6.jpg" /> Head Party, 2022, installation view, SCA Gallery, NSW. Photo by Document Photography. <img width="1620" height="1080" width_o="1620" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/78b5896ff1e50f6ec331021f1c456f0aa9e68f06a6a093a05a4020193902e1bd/SCA-SPINAF_Install_Document-Photography-March-22-web-5.jpg" data-mid="140240301" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/78b5896ff1e50f6ec331021f1c456f0aa9e68f06a6a093a05a4020193902e1bd/SCA-SPINAF_Install_Document-Photography-March-22-web-5.jpg" /> Head Party, 2022, installation detail, SCA Gallery, NSW. Photo by Document Photography. <img width="1080" height="1512" width_o="1080" height_o="1512" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7e29c661f477394f885c2185b8659d1918136515e13e1e0f6e2a3acc74a8b70f/SCA-SPINAF_Install_Document-Photography-March-22-web-8.jpg" data-mid="140240318" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/7e29c661f477394f885c2185b8659d1918136515e13e1e0f6e2a3acc74a8b70f/SCA-SPINAF_Install_Document-Photography-March-22-web-8.jpg" /> Head Party, 2022, installation detail, SCA Gallery, NSW. Photo by Document Photography. <img width="1620" height="1080" width_o="1620" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4c8a33f9250ca9904840e0447ce3bbe1cd039af3c4d27a77883f5957e1c66aed/SCA-SPINAF_Install_Document-Photography-March-22-web-9.jpg" data-mid="140240321" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/4c8a33f9250ca9904840e0447ce3bbe1cd039af3c4d27a77883f5957e1c66aed/SCA-SPINAF_Install_Document-Photography-March-22-web-9.jpg" /> Head Party, 2022, installation detail, SCA Gallery, NSW. Photo by Document Photography. <img width="1620" height="1080" width_o="1620" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4f52c48087191f5a19a14c889ead46dde074598b6ab3d7891278ec8a1966da6b/SCA-SPINAF_Install_Document-Photography-March-22-web-10.jpg" data-mid="140240323" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/4f52c48087191f5a19a14c889ead46dde074598b6ab3d7891278ec8a1966da6b/SCA-SPINAF_Install_Document-Photography-March-22-web-10.jpg" /> Head Party, 2022, installation detail, SCA Gallery, NSW. Photo by Document Photography. <img width="1080" height="1620" width_o="1080" height_o="1620" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2394c8ad62c1fa135f199e29403cf56c36522cedb03a62ed0cc1d6967afcc623/SCA-SPINAF_Install_Document-Photography-March-22-web-11.jpg" data-mid="140240326" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2394c8ad62c1fa135f199e29403cf56c36522cedb03a62ed0cc1d6967afcc623/SCA-SPINAF_Install_Document-Photography-March-22-web-11.jpg" /> Head Party, 2022, installation detail, SCA Gallery, NSW. Photo by Document Photography. https://tiyanbaker.com/nyatu-maan-n-mungut-bigabu-2021 Tue, 12 Oct 2021 02:16:49 +0000 Tiyan Baker https://tiyanbaker.com/nyatu-maan-n-mungut-bigabu-2021 nyatu’ maanǔn mungut bigabu nyatu’ maanǔn mungut bigabu (2021) first exhibited at Private Island, an Artist’s Run Initiative at Girls School Gallery in Boorloo (Perth), WA in October 2021. nyatu’ maanǔn mungut bigabu (2021) then won the 2022 National Photography Prize and exhibited at Murray Art Museum Albury, NSW. The work exhibited as part of the artist’s 2026 solo show “Mouth Mnemonica” at Newcastle Art Gallery, NSW. These four photographic prints use images taken on Bidayǔh native lands in Sarawak, in rivers where Baker’s mother played as a child and on ancestral farm lands. These images are autostereograms, also known as Magic Eye images, a nostalgic optical illusion technology that was very popular in the 1990s during the artist’s childhood. Embedded in these images are forgotten or rarely used Bidayǔh words that are about wandering, collecting and foraging.Serian Bidayǔh language has hundreds of terms for activities that speak to a daily rhythm of moving through the jungle and working intimately with plant life. In current semi-Industrialised Bidayǔh society, these&nbsp;words are almost never used and have been left behind. These images are incantations to evoke the old&nbsp;knowledge these words hold. They suggest that if we learn to see the natural world in a slightly different way, we can access another way of knowing and moving. Artwork details: Tiyan Baker, nyatu’ mungut maanǔn bigabu, 2021, digital autostereogram print on cotton rag Coding by Xavier Burrow Graphic design assistance by Alanna Roy Bentley Dimensions (framed): 55 x 86 cm <img width="3600" height="2400" width_o="3600" height_o="2400" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8c4788c74746ab4d80c1743c9eae286f32c76867c5307d665a91455a861ebc8f/Installation-view-of-Tiyan-Bakers-nyatu-maanun-mungut-bigabu-2021-as-part-of-Lost---Found_-Embodied-Archive-at-SAM-at-Tanjong-Pagar-Distripark.-Image-courtesy-of-Singapore-Art-Museum.jpg" data-mid="221082193" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8c4788c74746ab4d80c1743c9eae286f32c76867c5307d665a91455a861ebc8f/Installation-view-of-Tiyan-Bakers-nyatu-maanun-mungut-bigabu-2021-as-part-of-Lost---Found_-Embodied-Archive-at-SAM-at-Tanjong-Pagar-Distripark.-Image-courtesy-of-Singapore-Art-Museum.jpg" />nyatu’ maanǔn mungut bigabu, 2021, installation view, Singapore Art Museum, NSW. Documentation by Singapore Art Museum. <img width="2880" height="1920" width_o="2880" height_o="1920" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/892c455616dcc5d1b9a9190dcf0765f1efc9c44dabf4089270223870aa888329/20220225_JW_2869.jpg" data-mid="140237662" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/892c455616dcc5d1b9a9190dcf0765f1efc9c44dabf4089270223870aa888329/20220225_JW_2869.jpg" /> nyatu’ (to collect fallen fruit), 2021, installation view, Murray Art Museum Albury, NSW. Photo by Jeremy Weihrauch. <img width="2880" height="1920" width_o="2880" height_o="1920" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d67fd0ff545dad14c292dd9d9313e1fdfef5a7988b6df5a09bd61542d3ec3b85/20220225_JW_2853.jpg" data-mid="140237764" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d67fd0ff545dad14c292dd9d9313e1fdfef5a7988b6df5a09bd61542d3ec3b85/20220225_JW_2853.jpg" /> bigabu (to walk through water), 2021, installation view, Murray Art Museum Albury, NSW. Photo by Jeremy Weihrauch. <img width="2880" height="1920" width_o="2880" height_o="1920" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4408b4d33b20fe6191bf7af3706c87aeeafc5f8639acc787486c1293819fc545/20220225_JW_2856.jpg" data-mid="140237768" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/4408b4d33b20fe6191bf7af3706c87aeeafc5f8639acc787486c1293819fc545/20220225_JW_2856.jpg" /> mungut (to pick only the young buds), 2021, installation view, Murray Art Museum Albury, NSW. Photo by Jeremy Weihrauch. <img width="2880" height="1920" width_o="2880" height_o="1920" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/97d56affe02aad83f3b780cadd96147ed2d9981178e09750b29e30fd7bf589d0/20220225_JW_2862.jpg" data-mid="140237797" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/97d56affe02aad83f3b780cadd96147ed2d9981178e09750b29e30fd7bf589d0/20220225_JW_2862.jpg" /> maanǔn (found all over the place in plenty), 2021, installation view, Murray Art Museum Albury, NSW. Photo by Jeremy Weihrauch. <img width="2880" height="1920" width_o="2880" height_o="1920" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3e7fcb46af8b4572be306ef6f90b824031475ea4dea2526abef8f0518599a548/20220225_JW_2872.jpg" data-mid="140238768" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/3e7fcb46af8b4572be306ef6f90b824031475ea4dea2526abef8f0518599a548/20220225_JW_2872.jpg" />nyatu’ maanǔn mungut bigabu, 2021, installation view, Murray Art Museum Albury, NSW. Photo by Jeremy Weihrauch.