NAFA SINGAPORE STUDENTS RESIDENCY 2025
MARYAM BINTE TAYEB, BONG CHAI LEE, NURUL ATIQAH ZAIDI
13 May – 4 Juni 2025
Maryam Binte Tayeb
Dalam program residensi Studio Plesungan, Maryam Binte Tayeb mengembangkan praktik seni performansnya yang berfokus pada identitas, tubuh perempuan, dan warisan budaya melalui pendekatan kritis dan performatif. Selama residensi, ia menelusuri kembali akar warisan Jawa serta mempelajari ekosistem seni kontemporer dan tradisi pertunjukan di Indonesia, termasuk tari Jawa dan Reog.
Melalui partisipasi dalam lokakarya dan pembelajaran berbasis praktik, Maryam memperdalam riset dan metode tubuhnya, serta mengembangkan arah karya baru yang beresonansi dengan konteks sosial dan budaya Studio Plesungan.
Maryam Binte Tayeb seniman multidisipliner yang dinamis dengan praktik yang mencakup media lukisan, 3D, dan 4D. Dengan berakar kuat pada warisan budaya Melayu, karya Maryam merupakan eksplorasi terhadap tubuh, keadilan sosial, dan kompleksitas identitas melalui lensa feminis. Melalui ekspresi kreatifnya, ia berupaya menantang dan membongkar struktur sosial dan politik yang telah lama mengungkung, khususnya yang secara historis membatasi perempuan.
Dalam perjalanan ekspresi dan penemuan dirinya yang terus berlangsung, praktik Maryam tidak hanya menantang norma sosial, tetapi juga membangun komunitas. Karyanya mendorong dialog dan mengundang refleksi kolektif mengenai isu-isu gender, kekuasaan, dan transformasi sosial. Ia membayangkan karyanya sebagai kontribusi terhadap industri seni Asia Tenggara, dengan membangun kehadiran yang bertahan lama untuk mendorong perubahan sosial dan memperkuat suara-suara yang terpinggirkan.
As part of the Studio Plesungan residency program, Maryam Binte Tayeb developed her performance practice centered on identity, the female body, and cultural heritage through a critical and performative approach. During the residency, she revisited her Javanese roots and engaged with Indonesia’s contemporary art ecosystem and traditional performance practices, including Javanese dance and Reog.
Through workshops and hands-on learning, Maryam deepened her research and embodied methodologies, contributing to the development of new work responsive to the social and cultural context of Studio Plesungan.
Maryam Binte Tayeb is a dynamic, multi-disciplinary artist whose practice spans painting, 3D, and 4D mediums. Drawing on her deep-rooted Malay heritage, Maryam’s work is an exploration of the body, social justice, and the complexities of identity through a feminist lens.Through her creative expression, she seeks to challenge and dismantle long-held social and political structures, particularly those that have historically confined women.
In her ongoing journey of self-expression and discovery, Maryam’s practice not only challenges societal norms but also serves to build community. Her art fosters dialogue and invites collective reflection on issues of gender, power, and societal transformation. She envisions her work contributing to the Southeast Asian arts industry, steadily establishing a lasting presence that encourages social change and amplifies marginalized voices.
Nurul Atiqah Zaidi
Dalam residensinya di Studio Plesungan, Nurul Atiqah Zaidi mengembangkan proyek Bodies of Water: Ritual, Purification, and the Female Form. Proyek ini mengeksplorasi ritual pemurnian dalam tradisi Asia Tenggara dan Melayu-Muslim serta dampaknya terhadap persepsi dan pengaturan tubuh perempuan.
Melanjutkan risetnya mengenai otonomi tubuh, batasan gender, dan praktik ritualistik, proyek ini menandai pergeseran pendekatan artistik Nurul—dari metafora minyak sebagai simbol hiperseksualitas menuju air sebagai simbol pemurnian, penghapusan, dan transformasi.
Nurul Atiqah Zaidi adalah seniman interdisipliner yang karya-karyanya berpusat pada tubuh perempuan berkulit cokelat sebagai arsip, pertanyaan, dan ruang perlawanan. Praktiknya mengeksplorasi tema-tema seperti ritual, feminitas, pemurnian, dan kesalahpahaman budaya. Berakar pada identitasnya sebagai perempuan Melayu-Muslim, karya Atiqah menjelajahi ketegangan antara visibilitas dan perlawanan, kemarahan dan kelembutan, tontonan dan keheningan.
During her residency at Studio Plesungan, Nurul Atiqah Zaidi developed the project Bodies of Water: Ritual, Purification, and the Female Form. The project examines purification rituals within Southeast Asian and Malay-Muslim traditions and their influence on perceptions of the female body.
Building on her ongoing research into bodily autonomy, gendered constraints, and ritualistic practices, the project marks a shift in her artistic approach—from oil as a metaphor for hypersexualisation to water as a symbol of purification, erasure, and transformation.
NURUL ATIQAH ZAIDI is an interdisciplinary artist whose work centres on the brown female body as archive, question, and site of resistance. Her practice explores themes of ritual, femininity, purification, and cultural misreading. Rooted in her identity as a Malay-Muslim woman, Atiqah’s work navigates the tension between visibility and defiance, rage and softness, spectacle and stillness.
Bong Chai Lee
Bong Chai Lee melanjutkan eksplorasi artistiknya terhadap isu marginalisasi dan narasi yang kerap terabaikan selama residensinya di Studio Plesungan. Dengan menjadikan seni sebagai medium refleksi atas pengalaman manusia yang kompleks, ia menempatkan residensi ini sebagai ruang untuk refleksi personal dan eksperimentasi artistik yang berakar pada konteks lokal.
Selain fotografi, Bong Chai Lee mempelajari berbagai teknik tradisional setempat—seperti batik, tari, seni pertunjukan, pewarnaan tekstil, keramik, dan anyaman—untuk memperluas keterampilan serta memperdalam relasi dengan komunitas lokal, membangun dialog artistik yang kontekstual dan berkelanjutan.
Bong Chai Lee adalah seniman kelahiran Malaysia yang saat ini tinggal di Singapura. Ia sedang menempuh pendidikan Bachelor of Arts (Hons) dalam bidang Seni Rupa di Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. Melalui karyanya, ia bertujuan menggambarkan pengalaman manusia dan menyampaikan cerita-cerita yang bermakna. Dengan menyoroti isu-isu yang sering diabaikan dan terpinggirkan, ia berupaya memberikan suara bagi pemikiran-pemikiran yang kerap tak terungkapkan.
During her residency at Studio Plesungan, Bong Chai Lee continued her exploration of marginalisation and overlooked narratives, using art as a means to reflect on complex human experiences. She approached the residency as a space for personal reflection and artistic experimentation grounded in local contexts.
In addition to photography, she engaged with traditional local practices—including batik, dance, performance art, textile dyeing, pottery, and weaving—to expand her skills and deepen connections with the local community, fostering meaningful and contextually grounded artistic dialogue.
Bong Chai Lee is a Malaysian-born artist currently living in Singapore. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Fine Art at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. Through her work, she aims to illustrate the human experience and tell meaningful stories. By highlighting often overlooked and marginalized issues, she strives to give voice to thoughts that frequently remain unexpressed.
