Ipeh Nur

In this work, Ipeh explores the second-hand markets around Java. In Jogja they are called Pasar Senthir (lamplight markets) or elsewhere in Java Pasar Klitikhan (junk markets). They are often rambling and chaotic; a jumble sale of old, antique, discarded and possibly even stolen goods.

It interests me because it makes me think about life cycles. People give new meaning and life to objects that are considered no longer valuable, or maybe have been thrown away, broken.

Like many of Ipeh’s works, this screenprint has been created using natural pigments and dyes; indigo, cloves, charcoal and soil. Ipeh is interested in these materials because of the important roles they played in the colonial history of the archipelago.

Ipeh Nur was born in 1993 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and graduated from the Department of Printmaking, Indonesian Art Institute. She lives and works in Yogyakarta. Her works are based on personal experiences, daily life problems, memories and histories as background events.

Ipeh’s recent exhibitions include Sharjah Biennal 16: to carry (2025); Menghanyut: Tubuh dan Perjalanan, Soboman 219 Art Space, Yogyakarta (solo exhibition, 2022); Our Grandfather Road: The (gendered) body and place in contemporary southeast Asian art, 16albermarle Project Space, Sydney (2022); Garden of History, Zone2Source, Amstelpark, Amsterdam (2021); Salimah, Redbase Yogyakarta; Banda, Kedai Kebun Forum Yogyakarta (solo exhibition, 2018).