CRY ME A RIVER
2024
Citra Sasmita
In the beliefs and culture of the Balinese people, water is one of the essential elements in the continuity of life which is also contained in the manuscripts and religious ideology of Hinduism in Bali. Tri Hita Karana as a philosophy inherited in Bali is not only a discourse but also integrated into the life and cultural experience of the Balinese people as the legitimate heirs of nature and the universe of Bali both cosmologically and in its social construction. Every Balinese person born in Bali has gone through various complexities and ritual experiences from the womb to death.
Prayers, mantras, and philosophies have seeped into the pores of the Balinese people’s memories and the splash of water becomes a medium that delivers the manifestation of Balinese cosmological power into their spiritual bodies.
In the beliefs and culture of the Balinese people, water is one of the essential elements in the continuity of life which is also contained in the manuscripts and religious ideology of Hinduism in Bali. Tri Hita Karana as a philosophy inherited in Bali is not only a discourse but also integrated into the life and cultural experience of the Balinese people as the legitimate heirs of nature and the universe of Bali both cosmologically and in its social construction. Every Balinese person born in Bali has gone through various complexities and ritual experiences from the womb to death.
Prayers, mantras, and philosophies have seeped into the pores of the Balinese people’s memories and the splash of water becomes a medium that delivers the manifestation of Balinese cosmological power into their spiritual bodies.
Balinese people treat nature as an autonomous subject. Balinese people personify and glorify that nature is an entity with spiritual power that maintains the survival of creatures in the universe. This is different from the spirit of modern humans today who view nature as an object of exploitation so as to provide full access to the progressiveness of development, – something that is contrary to Eastern spirituality and philosophy.
Cry Me a River which I represent in this work, is my response to the social and water crisis that is happening in Bali. As a contemporary artist who was born and raised in Bali, I feel the rapid changes that are happening in Bali and are very different from my childhood memories. Springs are starting to dry up, large trees that are hundreds of years old are being cut down for development purposes, which is a threat to future generations of Balinese people.
The symbols in Cry Me a River are esoteric symbols that I developed from the ancient Balinese painting tradition as a blessing to the universe.
I took the fragments of these symbols from the work Beyond The Realm of Senses, a 30-meter installation painting exhibited at the 35th Sao Paulo Biennale, 2023, Brazil.
CRY ME A RIVER
2024
Citra Sasmita
In the beliefs and culture of the Balinese people, water is one of the essential elements in the continuity of life which is also contained in the manuscripts and religious ideology of Hinduism in Bali. Tri Hita Karana as a philosophy inherited in Bali is not only a discourse but also integrated into the life and cultural experience of the Balinese people as the legitimate heirs of nature and the universe of Bali both cosmologically and in its social construction. Every Balinese person born in Bali has gone through various complexities and ritual experiences from the womb to death.
Prayers, mantras, and philosophies have seeped into the pores of the Balinese people’s memories and the splash of water becomes a medium that delivers the manifestation of Balinese cosmological power into their spiritual bodies.
In the beliefs and culture of the Balinese people, water is one of the essential elements in the continuity of life which is also contained in the manuscripts and religious ideology of Hinduism in Bali. Tri Hita Karana as a philosophy inherited in Bali is not only a discourse but also integrated into the life and cultural experience of the Balinese people as the legitimate heirs of nature and the universe of Bali both cosmologically and in its social construction. Every Balinese person born in Bali has gone through various complexities and ritual experiences from the womb to death.
Prayers, mantras, and philosophies have seeped into the pores of the Balinese people’s memories and the splash of water becomes a medium that delivers the manifestation of Balinese cosmological power into their spiritual bodies.
Balinese people treat nature as an autonomous subject. Balinese people personify and glorify that nature is an entity with spiritual power that maintains the survival of creatures in the universe. This is different from the spirit of modern humans today who view nature as an object of exploitation so as to provide full access to the progressiveness of development, – something that is contrary to Eastern spirituality and philosophy.
Cry Me a River which I represent in this work, is my response to the social and water crisis that is happening in Bali. As a contemporary artist who was born and raised in Bali, I feel the rapid changes that are happening in Bali and are very different from my childhood memories. Springs are starting to dry up, large trees that are hundreds of years old are being cut down for development purposes, which is a threat to future generations of Balinese people.
The symbols in Cry Me a River are esoteric symbols that I developed from the ancient Balinese painting tradition as a blessing to the universe.
I took the fragments of these symbols from the work Beyond The Realm of Senses, a 30-meter installation painting exhibited at the 35th Sao Paulo Biennale, 2023, Brazil.
CRY ME A RIVER
2024
Citra Sasmita
In the beliefs and culture of the Balinese people, water is one of the essential elements in the continuity of life which is also contained in the manuscripts and religious ideology of Hinduism in Bali. Tri Hita Karana as a philosophy inherited in Bali is not only a discourse but also integrated into the life and cultural experience of the Balinese people as the legitimate heirs of nature and the universe of Bali both cosmologically and in its social construction. Every Balinese person born in Bali has gone through various complexities and ritual experiences from the womb to death.
Prayers, mantras, and philosophies have seeped into the pores of the Balinese people’s memories and the splash of water becomes a medium that delivers the manifestation of Balinese cosmological power into their spiritual bodies.
In the beliefs and culture of the Balinese people, water is one of the essential elements in the continuity of life which is also contained in the manuscripts and religious ideology of Hinduism in Bali. Tri Hita Karana as a philosophy inherited in Bali is not only a discourse but also integrated into the life and cultural experience of the Balinese people as the legitimate heirs of nature and the universe of Bali both cosmologically and in its social construction. Every Balinese person born in Bali has gone through various complexities and ritual experiences from the womb to death.
Prayers, mantras, and philosophies have seeped into the pores of the Balinese people’s memories and the splash of water becomes a medium that delivers the manifestation of Balinese cosmological power into their spiritual bodies.
Balinese people treat nature as an autonomous subject. Balinese people personify and glorify that nature is an entity with spiritual power that maintains the survival of creatures in the universe. This is different from the spirit of modern humans today who view nature as an object of exploitation so as to provide full access to the progressiveness of development, – something that is contrary to Eastern spirituality and philosophy.
Cry Me a River which I represent in this work, is my response to the social and water crisis that is happening in Bali. As a contemporary artist who was born and raised in Bali, I feel the rapid changes that are happening in Bali and are very different from my childhood memories. Springs are starting to dry up, large trees that are hundreds of years old are being cut down for development purposes, which is a threat to future generations of Balinese people.
The symbols in Cry Me a River are esoteric symbols that I developed from the ancient Balinese painting tradition as a blessing to the universe.
I took the fragments of these symbols from the work Beyond The Realm of Senses, a 30-meter installation painting exhibited at the 35th Sao Paulo Biennale, 2023, Brazil.
CRY ME A RIVER
2024
Citra Sasmita
In the beliefs and culture of the Balinese people, water is one of the essential elements in the continuity of life which is also contained in the manuscripts and religious ideology of Hinduism in Bali. Tri Hita Karana as a philosophy inherited in Bali is not only a discourse but also integrated into the life and cultural experience of the Balinese people as the legitimate heirs of nature and the universe of Bali both cosmologically and in its social construction. Every Balinese person born in Bali has gone through various complexities and ritual experiences from the womb to death.
Prayers, mantras, and philosophies have seeped into the pores of the Balinese people’s memories and the splash of water becomes a medium that delivers the manifestation of Balinese cosmological power into their spiritual bodies.
In the beliefs and culture of the Balinese people, water is one of the essential elements in the continuity of life which is also contained in the manuscripts and religious ideology of Hinduism in Bali. Tri Hita Karana as a philosophy inherited in Bali is not only a discourse but also integrated into the life and cultural experience of the Balinese people as the legitimate heirs of nature and the universe of Bali both cosmologically and in its social construction. Every Balinese person born in Bali has gone through various complexities and ritual experiences from the womb to death.
Prayers, mantras, and philosophies have seeped into the pores of the Balinese people’s memories and the splash of water becomes a medium that delivers the manifestation of Balinese cosmological power into their spiritual bodies.
Balinese people treat nature as an autonomous subject. Balinese people personify and glorify that nature is an entity with spiritual power that maintains the survival of creatures in the universe. This is different from the spirit of modern humans today who view nature as an object of exploitation so as to provide full access to the progressiveness of development, – something that is contrary to Eastern spirituality and philosophy.
Cry Me a River which I represent in this work, is my response to the social and water crisis that is happening in Bali. As a contemporary artist who was born and raised in Bali, I feel the rapid changes that are happening in Bali and are very different from my childhood memories. Springs are starting to dry up, large trees that are hundreds of years old are being cut down for development purposes, which is a threat to future generations of Balinese people.
The symbols in Cry Me a River are esoteric symbols that I developed from the ancient Balinese painting tradition as a blessing to the universe.
I took the fragments of these symbols from the work Beyond The Realm of Senses, a 30-meter installation painting exhibited at the 35th Sao Paulo Biennale, 2023, Brazil.
ARTWORK
ARTWORK
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