Ari Bayuaji
The Moon’s Reflection on the Ocean,
2024
![Tapestry showcasing a moon on a cobalt blue sky, over an aquamarine ocean. The work is made of woven plastic and cotton threads, mother of pearl, and semi-precious stone.](/content/concordia/en/finearts/about/galleries-venues/fofa-gallery/exhibitions/2024/too-good-to-waste/ari-bayuaji/_jcr_content/content-main/grid_container_1264704656/grid-container-parsys/image.img.jpg/1721860172655.jpg)
Projection description
Weaving the Ocean began with the idea of replacing vanishing natural materials with new “natural” materials that can be found easily. One day, I discovered an abundant supply of plastic ropes tangled in the roots of mangrove trees near Sanur on the coast of Bali. Entwined with the roots, the plastic rope appeared almost like a naturally growing part of the trees. This discovery led me to use the plastic threads as material for weaving. Plastic is so abundant in our environment these days that it has essentially become a major element of the natural world. Our lives have become entangled with plastic products in much the same fashion as the coral that I found growing on plastic ropes along the shoreline of Sanur, Bali.
Weaving the Ocean also includes the works A Floating House, 2024 and Fisherman’s treasures, 2024.
About the Artist
Ari Bayuaji (b. 1975, Mojokerto, Indonesia) graduated as a civil engineer and worked in Indonesia before deciding to move to Canada permanently in 2005. Once in Montréal, he studied Fine Arts at Concordia University from 2005 to 2010, and now divides his time between Montréal and Bali. The artist is known mainly for his art installations that incorporate the use of found and ready-made objects he collects from various parts of the world, thereby exposing himself to different cultural traditions. He is an expert in conveying aspects of daily life within a culture, as his works often expose the overlooked artistic value in everyday life expressed through objects and places and their roles within a society.