MQ Artists-in-Residence Aliansyah Caniago: Palm to palm

MQ Artists-in-Residence Aliansyah Caniago: Palm to palm
Wed 03.04.2024 17 – 19h
MQ Raum D

In the course of the MQ goes Green focus, the Art&Ecology Studio was founded as part of the MuseumsQuartier's international AiR programme. Since the beginning of 2024, artists who focus on ecological issues have been invited to the MQ for two-month residencies.

Aliansyah Caniago's performance is part of a broader project exploring the history of the Dryobalanops Aromatica, an endangered species of camphor tree that was once widespread in Sumatra. Caniago's research led him to traces of the tree in the archive and hebrarium of Kew Gardens (London, U.K.), where leaves and seeds were found preserved.
In his performance, the artist practices a special form of massage that he learnt as a child from his grandmother, who used it to tell the story of the family and its roots. "By linking storytelling, personal and collective memory, Caniago reveals connections between migration, colonisation and ecology while practising massage activities with the audience" (Laura Purseglove).

The works have been performed at: Koppel Project Hive, London, The Lost and the Remained, curated by An.Other Asian (2022), Palm to Palm Performance, China Exchange UK, London, curated by An.Other Asian (2022), Interim Show, MA Art and Ecology, Goldsmiths University of London (2023)

Photo: © Aliansyah Caniago