Sasya grew up in a family of doctors. Her parents wanted her to follow the family tradition, but Sasya had another agenda. She started by studying industrial management in Syracuse University, New York, USA, then continued to learn about business management in Erasmus Universiteit, the Netherlands, and graduated with a MBA - Master in Business Administration. This, however, was not enough. Between 1992 and 1995, she took another route and studied painting at the short courses offered in Vrije Academie, Leidschendam, the Netherlands. Under the tutelage of Ben Stolk, Jose Moons, and Hans Kemmer, Sasya learned about the various media and techniques in painting. She was very intrigued, especially by watercolor paintings and paintings on silk.

Her pleasure in arranging things makes Sasya become even more familiar with the themes of everyday objects, or still life. This is actually the basic knowledge for every painter, especially those who are educated in Europe. Sasya is also interested in interior design, fashion, fiber arts, and many other things - all happen to be related with arranging things. In short, the work to arrange things has become a part of her daily life. "Arranging the world of objects is like arranging life itself," she says.

Her paintings show her close attention to details and are far from expressive. The view that visual art is a matter of composing forms or of mastery in arrangements is obvious in her works. For about a decade, Sasya has been arranging things whose sizes are never bigger than her body. The objects are the familiar things in her daily life. She paints according to the arrangement she has made beforehand. Such classical tradition in painting has been dismissed by many contemporary artists, who are mostly interested in the grand matters outside themselves. The art that results, therefore, mostly talks about pain. Sasya, on the other hand, talks about the world of things small, and the pleasure she finds in it. She enjoys and lives the life she arranges, outside the massive and harsh uproars of modernity. Sasya constructs symbolical meanings in objects such as dolls, wooden puppets, ceramics, and flowers. This is her subversion - or perhaps interpellation - against the dubious projects of modernity.

In this open biennale, Sasya displays her watercolor paintings that show several different arrangements of wooden puppets. The works are titled, consecutively, The Dynasty, Are You My Woman?, and I Love You Daddy. The wooden puppets are arranged as if in dialogues, and offer symbolical interpretations related to her life and her emotional experiences. The experiences are utterly unrelated with the traditional wayang story generally known. Here Sasya does not wish to talk about her traditional root, identity, or ethnicity. This can also be seen in her decision to use Sundanese wayang or wooden puppets instead of the Javanese ones, which are more closely related to her family background.

Asikin Hasan

Born on December 25, 1963 in Jakarta.
Studied at Smith College of Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA (B.Sc.; 1987), Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (MBA; 1991). Joined workshops in Vrije Academie, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (1991), Vrije Academie, Leidschendam, the Netherlands (1995), Te Werve Shell Art Club, The Hague, the Netherlands (1995).

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
1999 Cipta Mercurius Gallery, Kemang, Jakarta.
2001 "Painting My Soul I", The Dharmawangsa, Jakarta.
2002 "From Indonesia with Love", Van Waning Gallery, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
2003 "From Indonesia with Love", CoChine Gallery, Singapore; "From Indonesia with Love", Laren, Netherlands.

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
1998 "Indonesia, an Expression by its Women", Mitra Hadiprana Gallery, Kemang.
1999 "My Fellow Artist", Linggar Gallery, Kemang, Jakarta.
2000 Frugal Lunch Exhibition, Kemang, Jakarta.
2002 "10 + 1 Talents", Kemang 104, Koi Gallery, Jakarta.
2003 "Woman Arts & Culture Festival" in conjunction with Kartini's Celebration, Ismail Marzuki Park (TIM), Jakarta.

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