🌴: In the forests of Maluku, my tale does unfurl,
together there, nature and people, they whirl.
Sagu tree’s shield alike, I hide something deep,
In Melanesian hearts, my secret they keep.
What am I, this quality strong and yet tender,
A trait in the hearts that no storm can hinder?
🦎: What are you??
🌴: I am soft, and protected by my bark.
Do you know what motivated the Dutch Metroxylon Sagu tree to exchange letters with a
botanical philosopher?
🦎: Tell me plz.
🌴:They thought these philosophers were skilled at helping plants uncover their 'root' issues!
🦎: I love that. I’ve dreamed of settling deeper into my body too.
🌴: Do you know how the uprooted tree felt about being lost?
🦎: Idk.
🌴: It looked for the nearest wifi, just to feel connected.📡
Jerrold Saija focuses on unlearning cycles of harm and suffering caused by colonial history, and its impact on the Moluccan body. In his artistic practice, he draws from oral history, lived experiences, archives, memory, mourning, and the pleasures of the Moluccan body. Saija explores new possibilities around what remains of this history. Media and methods such as photography, sculpting, 3D modelling, rendering, printing, clowning and storytelling are used as tools to reconnect with what has been lost.