I'm a ghost in my own house

2012

I'm a Ghost in My Own House (2012) is a twelve hours performance where Melati Suryodarmo crushed and grinded hundreds of kilograms of charcoal briquettes on a grinding table placed in the middle of exhibition hall—which she has transformed into a vagueness and magical charcoal pool. For Melati, charcoals have served as a symbol of life's energy, but she has experienced herself how life's magic can fade away and even become spent.  

“This charcoal process can represent my thoughts and psychological state, charred into coals through a certain system and, of course, through my personal events. In my mind, charcoals also have the potential to change and also to destroy... I choose to grind down these coals, turning them into grains and dust and soot. Grinded charcoal, will only lose its energy potential. My thoughts that have been turned into coals by the system, if they pass through the processes of liberation, catharsis, and death... maybe they will once again grow into something new." Melati Suryodarmo.

Duration: 12 hours

Performed at the Lawangwangi Creative Space, Lawangwangi Foundation, Bandung, Indonesia, 2012