Alexander Sebastianus’s (b. 1995, Indonesia) masa draws reference from Javanese measurements of time, which capture sequences that are both linear and cyclical. This creation weaving together 42,524 threads is an exploration of our “here”s, “where”s, “was” and “after”s in life. A period “begins to end, yet ends to begin.”
Sebastianus is a practicing ethnographer and weaver, who explores the decontextualization of material culture, how it has changed and become ritualised in contemporary practices. He believes that decolonising the ontologies of art is to reclaim Sani, a way of living which involves offering, service and a search for the unknown. Pilgrimages, sacred spaces and woven cloths are products of this practice.