Alexander Sebastianus

Alexander Sebastianus Hartanto (b. 1995) sees ethnographic research as an experiential mode of existence. His works explore the decontextualization of material cultures and how they are perceived, understood and ritualized in practice. For Sebastianus, decolonizing the ontologies of art is to reclaim Sani, a way of living that involves offering, service and search of the unknown. Such a practice leads to a recreation of pilgrimages, sacred spaces and woven cloths, all of which may or may not be archived, documented or shared. In Sani, what is left are remnants and evidence of materials.

A. Sebastianus Hartanto is an artist who achieved the William Daley Award for Excellence in Art History and Craft in 2017. Trained as an apprentice in his grandmother’s hometown in East Java, he mastered the art of weaving, which has become essential in his exploration of visual and material ontology. Currently he works at Rumah Sukkha Citta in Java as an ethnographer and developer of textile crafts.