Melati Suryodarmo

Melati Suryodarmo (b. 1969, Solo, Indonesia) graduated from Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunscheweig, Germany, under the tutelage of Marina Abramović and Anzu Furukawa with a
Meisterschüler in Performance Art.

Her work is the result of ongoing research in the movements of the body and its relationship to the self and the world. These are enshrined in photography, translated into choreographed
dances, enacted in video or executed in live performances. She is known for long durational performances, influenced by Butoh, dance, and history. By compiling, extracting, conceptualising and translating factors of presence into her work, she seeks to expand the fluid border between the body and its environment, expressing her concerns about cultural, societal, and political dimensions.

Suryodarmo has performed and presented her work in art festivals, biennials and museums, including Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, U.K.; Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, Netherlands; Museum MACAN, Jakarta, Indonesia; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia; National Museum of Contemporary Art Korea, Gwacheon, South Korea; National Art Centre, Tokyo and Mori Art Museum, Japan; Para Site, Hong Kong; Seoul Museum of Art, South Korea; Bangkok Art Biennale (2020); Asia Society Triennial (2020); 8th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (2015); and 1st Asia Biennial/5th Guangzhou Triennial (2015).

Since 2007, Suryodarmo has been organising a performance art festival Performance Art Laboratory and Undisclosed Territory, in Indonesia annually. In 2012, she founded Studio Plesungan, a laboratory art space for performance artists. She served as Artistic Director for JIWA: Jakarta Biennale 2017. She was a finalist in the APB Foundation Signature Art Prize 2014 and awarded the Bonnefanten Award for Contemporary Art (BACA) in 2022.