Nani Puspasari, Macan II, 2022, ceramic, glazed stoneware,18 x 27 x 14cm, collection: Muswellbrook Shire Art Collection, Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, photo: Nani Puspasari

Nani Puspasari is able to reconnect with her ancestors through ceramic installations that evoke time with grandparents.

A tiger watches over me. Not a real one, of course, but an image framed in my childhood home, a cut-out from a calendar, carefully preserved by my father the year I was born. In Chinese culture, the tiger is a guardian, a protector of those under its watch. I was born in the Year of the Tiger, and my father must have believed in its strength because that image remains hanging in our family home to this day. The tiger appears often in my ceramic work, a subconscious yet undeniable presence. Since migrating to Australia alone, I have felt its silent protection, the echo of my ancestors watching over me. It has become a symbol of resilience, of courage, of never being truly alone. In many ways, my ceramic installations, whether Tea Time with My Grandparents or Recollection of Memories, embody this same energy. They are my way of staying connected, ensuring that no matter how far I travel, the spirits of my ancestors walk with me.

Nani Puspasari, Afternoon Tea with Grandparents, 2021, installation view, courtesy SOL Gallery, Melbourne, photo: Nani Puspasari.

Tea Time with My Grandparents: A Conversation That Never Happened

My paternal grandparents have always been distant figures, both in life and in memory. My grandmother was a batik artist from Lasem, a region renowned for its intricate textile traditions. I only met them twice before they passed away, yet their presence loomed large in our household. My father often spoke of them, maintaining a simple ancestor table where he would pray, keeping their spirits alive through ritual. Every month, he meticulously arranged offerings of fruit and tea, whispering prayers in their honour. But beyond tradition, he sought their guidance, casting coins onto the ground, reading their patterns to navigate life’s biggest questions. Should he buy a new house? Should he trust a business partner?

Nani Puspasari, Afternoon Tea with Grandparent, 2021, installation view, courtesy SOL Gallery, Melbourne, photo: Nani Puspasari.

I watched in quiet fascination. It was as if my father had a direct line to the ancestors, an unbroken thread of wisdom passed down through generations. Unlike him, I never had the chance to sit with my grandparents, to ask them my own questions, to hear their laughter or advice. So, I created Tea Time with My Grandparents, a ceramic installation that imagines the impossible: a moment where we share tea, where I can finally seek their wisdom, as my father once did.

The installation reinterprets the ancestor table from my childhood home, a place where offerings were left, stories were whispered, and silent conversations with the past unfolded. It is both an act of remembrance and an expression of longing, a way to reclaim something lost and create a space where my ancestors and I can finally meet, even if only in clay.

Nani Puspasari, Recollection of Memories, 2024, installation view, courtesy Bunjil Place, VIC, photo: Christian Capurso

Recollection of Memories through Clay

While my paternal grandparents remained distant figures, my maternal grandparents were a daily presence in my life. They lived just across from our house, their warmth woven into my childhood. I can still hear their voices, recall the mornings when my grandfather would bring fruit and food while we had breakfast, and picture the well-worn furniture of their living room. But when I moved to Australia, life moved faster than I expected. Just six months after I left, they were gone.

My late grandfather’s ceramic collection, Indonesia, photo: Nani Puspasari.

When Bunjil Place commissioned me to create a work for their blue-and-white-themed exhibition, curated by Vipoo Srivilasa last year, I knew exactly where I needed to return, to my grandparents’ house. Stepping inside after years away, I found everything untouched, frozen in time. Their collection of blue-and-white ceramics, some from China, some from Holland, still sat dusty on the shelves. It felt as if time had paused, waiting for someone to listen to the stories they held.

Recollection of Memories (2024) is an intimate exploration of personal history, cultural heritage, and familial ties, told through the language of ceramic sculpture. Growing up as a Chinese Indonesian, I often found myself navigating the intersections of multiple cultures and religions, absorbing traditions that shaped my sense of belonging in ways both comforting and complex. This installation reflects that layered experience, drawing from childhood memories, family rituals, and the enduring presence of ancestral wisdom. A tiger, symbolising strength and protection, watches over the space, while the arrangement echoes a traditional memorial table, a quiet homage to those who came before me.

Installation view and the note, photo: Nani Puspasari

During the exhibition, visitors became part of this evolving narrative by slipping their own secret memories into ceramic slots resembling celengan (piggy banks). Each written reflection became a hidden yet powerful contribution, transforming the space into a vessel of shared histories and unspoken emotions. Through this act of quiet storytelling, Recollection of Memories became more than just a personal meditation; it became a communal experience, a reminder that our identities are shaped not only by where we come from but also by the connections we build along the way.

Nani Puspasari, sketch concept development of Recollection of Memories installation, courtesy Nani Puspasari, 2024.

In that stillness, I imagine my ancestors seated across from me—their wisdom unspoken, yet deeply felt. Living alone in Australia, far from family, these tiger works have become a way for me to honour my heritage, reflect on the traditions that shaped me, and keep the spirit of those who came before me close. Each piece is a quiet offering, transforming absence into presence, and memory into something I can hold.

About Nani Puspasari

Nani Puspasari is a Chinese Indonesian artist based in Naarm (Melbourne), Australia. She is a multidisciplinary visual artist working across painting, sculpture, ceramics, and installation. Her practice explores cultural identity, migration, and memory, blending her Eastern heritage with contemporary forms. Through playful, bold, and surreal imagery, she captures themes of nostalgia, longing, and transformation, layered with symbolism, humour, and storytelling. Her work conveys emotion through a subtle, abstract, and poetic sensibility. Nani holds a Master of Fine Art from RMIT University and has exhibited both in Australia and internationally. She has undertaken artist residencies in South Korea, Austria, and Japan, and has been selected as a finalist in the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize and the Muswellbrook Art Prize. Visit www.designani.com, and follow @_designani.

Tags

animal | ceramics | G39 | Indonesia | Melbourne | safe harbour | tiger