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EVENT19.05.2023 / 10.00am10.00pm
PAST EVENT

Melati Suryodarmo: I’m a Ghost in My Own House

Melati Suryodarmo performs her 12-hour solo durational performance, I’m a Ghost in My Own House (2012). The artist inhabits a vast charcoal pit in Ikon’s First Floor Galleries where she continuously crushes lumpwood with a stone rolling pin on a large mortar. 

As she physically exhausts herself, the charcoal is exhausted too; the lumpwood are crushed into dust, symbolising the expenditure of life’s energy and the potential for renewal. The work reflects Suryodarmo’s feelings of dislocation following her return to Indonesia after living in Germany for many years. 

Please note that due to the nature of this performance there will be charcoal dust present in the First Floor Galleries. 

Presented as part of Melati Suryodarmo’s exhibition Passionate Pilgrim (17 May – 3 September 2023). 

This exhibition is supported by Bagri FoundationBritish Council through the Connections Through Culture grants programmeBirmingham City University, University of Leeds, and the Melati Suryodarmo Exhibition Circle: A.I. GalleryShanghART, Tanya Michele Amador and Michiel Verhoeven; and Michelangelo and Lourdes Samson.

It is developed in collaboration with Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara (Museum MACAN), Jakarta, Indonesia.

Event Date

This event has passed

Event Details

First Floor Galleries  

Free entry, donations welcome. 

No need to book, just drop in. 

Ikon Gallery is open from 9.45am on this day.  

Suitable for all ages. Seating available. 

Please note that due to the nature of this performance there will be charcoal dust present in the First Floor Galleries.  

Information on Ikon Gallery’s accessibility is available here

For additional access enquiries please contact education@ikon-gallery.org

This event is being photographed and filmed. Please speak to the photographer or filmmaker if you prefer not to be included. 

VENUE

Ikon Gallery

1 Oozells Square, Brindleyplace, Birmingham B1 2HS

Image Credits
1. Melati Suryodarmo, I'm a Ghost in My Own House (2012). 12 hour performance. Performed at Melati Suryodarmo, Why Let the Chicken Run exhibition, Museum MACAN (29 February 2020). Image courtesy of Museum MACAN 2. Melati Suryodarmo, I’m a Ghost in My Own House. Performed at Lawangwangi Foundation, Bandung, 2012. Photo courtesy of the artist 3. Melati Suryodarmo, I’m a Ghost in My Own House. Performed at Lawangwangi Foundation, Bandung, 2012. Photo courtesy of the artist
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