Geography of nostalgia
20.06.2025-22.06.2025
Redbase Foundation, Yogyakarta
Indonesia
https://gallery.redbaseart.com/event/99/geography-of-nostalgia
Geography of nostalgia is a body of work Lee developed over six-week residency at Redbase Foundation, kindly supported by Asia New Zealand Foundation. Some pieces were created in collaboration with local makers and tailors Lee connected with during her residency in Yogyakarta.
Exhibition text:
Geography of Nostalgia explores the emotional ties we form with landscapes, everyday environments, communities, and cultural practices—elements that not only shape our identities but also reflect broader national and geopolitical contexts. Originally coined to describe the geographical condition of being away from one’s homeland, the term nostalgia has since evolved to encompass the longing and emotional dislocation that arise from separation—whether from a homeland, a way of life, or a cultural inheritance.
In this immersive installation, Lee navigates nostalgia as both a temporal and spatial phenomenon. Her work draws on the textures of memory and place—weaving together materials, moving image, sound, and imagery that evoke fragments of a once-familiar world. From handmade batik textiles and a quilt made of remnants collected from her family’s shophouse, to the gentle contours of Kawung’s four-lobed petals and banana leaves, the resonant call to prayer, and the cyclical rhythm of paddy harvesting, each element serves as a sensory portal to the past.
The exhibition title, Geography of Nostalgia, is taken from the book of the same name by Alastair Bonnett, which addresses global and local perspectives on modernity and loss. Through this installation, Lee unfolds Geography of Nostalgia as a map of absence and presence, longing and belonging, the global and the local. It traces not only what has been lost or left behind, but also what endures—through memory, ritual, and imagination.
20.06.2025-22.06.2025
Redbase Foundation, Yogyakarta
Indonesia
https://gallery.redbaseart.com/event/99/geography-of-nostalgia
Geography of nostalgia is a body of work Lee developed over six-week residency at Redbase Foundation, kindly supported by Asia New Zealand Foundation. Some pieces were created in collaboration with local makers and tailors Lee connected with during her residency in Yogyakarta.
Exhibition text:
Geography of Nostalgia explores the emotional ties we form with landscapes, everyday environments, communities, and cultural practices—elements that not only shape our identities but also reflect broader national and geopolitical contexts. Originally coined to describe the geographical condition of being away from one’s homeland, the term nostalgia has since evolved to encompass the longing and emotional dislocation that arise from separation—whether from a homeland, a way of life, or a cultural inheritance.
In this immersive installation, Lee navigates nostalgia as both a temporal and spatial phenomenon. Her work draws on the textures of memory and place—weaving together materials, moving image, sound, and imagery that evoke fragments of a once-familiar world. From handmade batik textiles and a quilt made of remnants collected from her family’s shophouse, to the gentle contours of Kawung’s four-lobed petals and banana leaves, the resonant call to prayer, and the cyclical rhythm of paddy harvesting, each element serves as a sensory portal to the past.
The exhibition title, Geography of Nostalgia, is taken from the book of the same name by Alastair Bonnett, which addresses global and local perspectives on modernity and loss. Through this installation, Lee unfolds Geography of Nostalgia as a map of absence and presence, longing and belonging, the global and the local. It traces not only what has been lost or left behind, but also what endures—through memory, ritual, and imagination.
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