There’s a quiet tension and urgency in the works of Kei Imazu. Since relocating to Bandung in 2018, the Japanese artist has drawn from the tangled realities of urban development as well as environmental and ecological collapse in Indonesia—not as isolated anxieties, but as interconnected symptoms of a broader societal condition.
Her solo exhibition at Museum MACAN, ‘The Sea is Barely Wrinkled’, is a compelling exploration of Jakarta’s layered histories, stretching back from the development of the city’s port, Sunda Kelapa, to the infamous 1629 shipwreck of the Batavia. Through the tragic narrative of mutiny and massacre aboard the ill-fated vessel, Imazu channels the enduring legacies of colonial violence and ambition, revealing how these historic ruptures continue to echo in the city’s cultural and environmental fabric.
“The exhibition title draws from Italo Calvino’s work of the same name, and his observation that it is impossible to isolate a single wave because they are formed by many layers, coming together as one powerful force. In the same way, Jakarta today is a reflection of the problems shaped by different points of history. These issues didn’t appear all at once; they were built up gradually, shaping the city we know today,” explained the artist.
That image of layered waves becomes central to the show, where the shipwreck functions as both metaphor and anchor—a moment of collapse whose aftershocks still shape Indonesia’s social and ecological landscapes.
The show opens with a sweeping 10-meter painting titled after the exhibition, where vast, saturated blues from an oil pastel the artist mixed herself engulf the viewer. Floating across the surface: cloves, nutmeg, exotic birds, scattered bones, and a gateway that was originally intended for the Dutch East India Company (VOC) fort in Old Batavia. These were the cargo of the Batavia, commodities and curiosities bound for now Jakarta, cast adrift in a meditative tableau.
In ‘Harbor View’ (2025), the artist paints a map of colonial Batavia overlaid with present-day satellite images of Jakarta, offering multiple layers to view history and how the past and present converge. “In the 17th century, the Dutch arrived and set out to build a new city modeled after Amsterdam, hence the nickname ‘Small Amsterdam’. This city was constructed on what was originally a mangrove forest. The mangroves were cleared to make way for the town, a move that had lasting ecological consequences,” explained Kei.
Throughout the show, Imazu resists a straightforward narrative, offering instead a fluid, multi-layered perspective that mirrors how history lingers and unfolds. From above, delicate fabrics in pale blue and white hang suspended, drifting like jellyfish or sea foam. Layered and cut to mimic sunlight filtering through water, they deepen the exhibition’s immersive atmosphere.
The artist also turns to folklore and mythology through ‘Nyai Roro Kidul’ (2025) where the powerful Queen of the Southern Sea is cast in iron, her serpentine form cloaked in batik parang that trails like a wave or snake’s tail, as a symbolism to how man’s colonial ambition was defeated by greater powers of nature.
Just behind it, ‘Batavia Ship’ (2025) presents a fragmented replica of the Batavia ship itself, made from 3D-printed ABS plastic, resin and sand. Like with her other pieces, the choice of material highlights Imazu’s interest in dualities and her approach of combining traditional and digital processes.
“I’ve always been curious about new technology. Throughout my career, I’ve explored and stayed in touch with emerging tools and innovations—from the early days of the iMac to more recent developments like the 3D printer. What excites me most is finding ways to connect these new discoveries with archival materials from the past,” shared Imazu. At the back of the room, ‘The Land Lost to the Sea’ (2024) explores this further through a luminous sculptural relief mapping Jakarta’s geological and cultural terrain. Layers of earth, fossil fragments and the image of Dewi Sri, the goddess of rice, lie embedded beneath the surface, tracing a quiet narrative of man’s history and ties to the land that sustains it.
Yet despite the gravity of these themes, Imazu approaches the exhibition through a light colour palette and fluid forms. Though the past is still present, she suggests that it doesn’t have to remain static. ‘The Sea is Barely Wrinkled’ is more than a meditation on history. It’s an invitation to feel its presence, to trace its patterns across time, and to imagine the waves still forming just beneath the surface.
Kei Imazu’s ‘The Sea is Barely Wrinkled’ will run from May 25 to November 5, 2025 at Museum MACAN. For more details and booking information, click here.
