Ruth Marbun

(b.1985, Indonesia) Ruth Marbun is a visual artist based in Jakarta. She studied and worked in the Singapore fashion industry before starting her art practice unexpectedly, as she decided to go back to Indonesia in 2012. The search for a community back home eventually led her to the contemporary art scene in Jakarta. Her work captures emotions and reflects them in the form of questions and/or a sense of discomfort. Most of all, she values individual experiences as a significant infrastructure at the core of society. She features imperfections as strength through her works and emphasises humanity’s perseverance and adaptability. As she has lived most of her life in big cities, people and imaginary creatures have always been a part of her memory’s landscape. She visualises and deconstructs figures through her use of paint, layers of fabric, unapologetic sewing and sometimes printmaking.

She has exhibited her work through several exhibitions in Jakarta, Jogjakarta, Melbourne and Sydney, including solo exhibitions such as *Terms & conditions apply, with Clear Gallery Tokyo at Art Jakarta 2018, Prologue: Image Not Found, at Jogja Contemporary, Yogyakarta, 2017,and Waktu Tak Pandai Berbohong at Suar Artspace, Jakarta, 2015.