PHYTOGENETIC CYCLE

These recent paintings are inspired by Dewi Sri, the goddess of fertility in Javanese and Balinese mythology. She is revered as the protector of rice, embodying the life cycle of the rice fields: from growth to harvest, and then to regeneration.

Throughout the farming season, offerings are made in the fields to honour Dewi Sri and ensure an abundant harvest. After the rice is gathered, farmers burn the leftover stalks near the paddies.

Through fire, the plant turns into ash, which is then scattered back onto the soil to enrich it. This ancient gesture reflects an endless cycle of transformation.

According to legend, when Dewi Sri dies, her body transforms into nourishing plants. She represents a form of spiritual ecology, where every ending carries the seed of a new beginning.

For this series, I’ve been studying the plants that grow around the rice fields: wild grasses and overlooked species that quietly support the ecosystem. I observe them under a microscope, collecting their forms to become the basis for patterns that I print on cotton fabric using manual silk screen techniques.

The pigments I use come from the soil of the rice fields, as well as ashes I’ve gathered during the post-harvest burnings. These materials carry the memory of the land, the rice cycle, and the regenerative force of life.