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Merchie-Manifestasi

Since 2018, we've seen some intense : equally challenging and glorious years, and now feel the urgency to set a recalibration-gesture. What began as a desire-gesture to create our own spaces and platforms (for our kind and kin)  has evolved into a journey that has diverged in ways we never dreamed and anticipated. Along this path, we've faced difficult decisions, taken risks, and accepted heavy responsibilities. Some of us have left, but from the turbulence and euphoria, new faces and fresh energies have emerged.

We've ridden numerous rocky roads : pandemics, wars, geopolitical (neverending) drama and nightmare, energy crises—and now face a profound economic crisis. Next year, a 50% cut in arts and culture funding will take effect, marking a devastating blow for us and for countless others in the independence-grass roots art initiative community. In these times, the need for recalibration has never been more pressing. Questions about sustainability are louder and more urgent than ever, and, alongside many other grassroots artistic initiatives, we are grappling with the same pain and despair, uncertain of how to move forward.

Our small baby step into merchandising represents a modest but meaningful move forward, aiming to address the long-held dream of reducing our scene’s ultra dependency on public funding. This exploration isn’t entirely new; in our early years, we centered “food” within our artistic practice, using it not only as a medium but also as a tool to cover initial economic costs. If you’ve attended our events, you might recall the mixed reactions this provoked. People began to see us primarily as food providers, approaching us with transactional expectations that often overshadowed our artistic intentions.

Now, this new gesture also serves as an opportunity to re-evaluate that approach. It’s a call to revisit the spirit of DIY that originally drove us, opening spaces and creating possibilities with limited means. We extend this invitation to you—and to all who are part of our ecosystem—to reimagine a healthier, mutual symbiosis that allows us to thrive together. This is not just about sustaining ourselves but about co-existing in a way that nurtures both artistic/economic desire, needs, and resilience for all/most/some/few of us. 

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Cost transparency breakdown

From xx € we get a donation amount per item. This would be more or less percentage of breakdown where the sum goes :

Example of from item that with 20€ suggested donation

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SATIRANTAU

Satirantau is a visual metaphor that playfully critiques the nuances of merantau—the Indonesian concept of wandering or seeking one’s fortune away from home. The series reimagines everyday commercial products cherished by Indonesians and moreover.. it‘s diaspora (as they evoke a strong sense of “home”). However ,this series goes beyond mere romanticization of home; it critically examines the history, social impact, and complexities surrounding these iconic capitalist products.


👉🏼 “Seleraku” : glorious phenomenon of instant noodles, where the narrative unpacks gastro-politics of wheat 🌾 and its darker ties to monopolistic control associated with dictatorial regime. Later this specific brand also became an instant noodle pioneer in Africa.


👉🏼 “Gudang Kedelai” : clove cigarettes, a quintessential Indonesian product once symbolic of national industry (with scandalous significant low amount of tax). This piece explores how these cigarettes fueled economic growth while relying heavily on labor. In an ironic twist, the cigarette industry eventually fell into the hands of multinational corporations, with local workers left only as labors ✊🏾


👉🏼 “Kecoa” : The iconic insecticide becomes the subject of a striking graphic that plays on its notorious association with suicidal humor in Indonesia in the 80s and 90e. It subtly nods to its origins as a German chemical invention and the scandalous 1996 advertisement in a Guatemalan newspaper, which declared, “Der plötzliche Tod ist eine Spezialität aus Deutschland” (“Sudden death is a German specialty”). Well?


👉🏼 “Elang” : eucalyptus oil—a product deeply connected to Indo-Chinese heritage—because some of the brand identity even use chinese fonts, apparently developed by German chemist back in 1916, and heavily marketed in south east asia after second world war. Which belonging and authenticity should we rely on?


👉🏼 “Herbal Diaspora Drama” :  Herbal drink Known widely as a health tonic, it was controversially accused by American distributors of containing harmful chemicals which can caused cancer and birth defect. Another American made demonization that was never proven?