Naomi Samara

Lives and works in Bali, Indonesia

Artist statement

Naomi Samara is a visual artist from Bali, Indonesia. The artworks she creates center around the idea of belonging. Being ‘Other’ is a state she explores through her works and the yearning to understand (emotionally and rationally) connection is a key impulse to create. As a result of her mixed heritage, she has always questioned what it truly means to be a part of opposing realities. Realties masked as cultural narratives that collide, oppress, adore and have the power to create and unravel. How does identifying such transitory and conflicting identities manipulate the weight of connection? How much of our persona and inner purpose is guided and anchored by our heritage and forefathers? To explore these questions, she often relies on creating her own stories based on traditional tales ingrained in her childhood which she then breaks down and reassembles into anagrams. The fragmented narratives are then translated visually into painted or drawn ‘forms’ which carry these intangible stories or poems. This highly intuitive yet structured process of creating allows her to explore the tension of the ‘in between’.

Artwork