... is a designer and writer interested in how design can be used
as both a research tool and a medium to give voice to important
and underrepresented communities and issues. She works in
the intersection of
cultural heritage,
disaster mitigation, graphic design,
spatial design, and object
materiality. Her outputs encompass creative writing, illustration, interior architecture, publication design, and
textile
design.
Email
InstagramA Crocodile Wedding
DOC 234—34/2
YEAR
2024
TYPE
Ceramics, installation
design, product
design.
EXHIBITION
Pesta Rakyat -
Hatta Arts at EUR,
Rotterdam. 2025 (NL)
AAArchive #2 at De
Bouwput, Amsterdam.
2025 (NL)
A Crocodile Wedding re-imagines roti buaya (crocodile bread), a significant cultural symbol of the Betawi people in Jakarta, Indonesia. This project investigates how changing an object's materiality can alter its cultural meaning and purpose.
The roti buaya is traditionally a pair of loaves shaped like crocodiles, presented by the groom to the bride at Betawi weddings. It symbolizes loyalty and endurance, a reflection of the belief that crocodiles are monogamous creatures. The tradition also preserves the memory of a time when crocodiles were a part of Jakarta's natural landscape before rapid urbanization erased their habitats. The act of transforming a potentially dangerous animal into something edible may have also been a way for people to symbolically overcome the dangers of nature.
The project reimagines this traditional bread using ceramics. By changing the material, "A Crocodile Wedding" questions the object's core identity. Bread is temporary—meant to be consumed and to disappear—while ceramics are durable and fragile, meant to last. This material shift challenges the object's original purpose and invites a new perspective. Does it remain a cultural symbol, or does it become something else entirely?
Through this transformation, the project explores themes of memory, tradition, and the evolution of cultural objects. It prompts a dialogue about how heritage can be preserved and reinterpreted in a contemporary context, while still maintaining a connection to its origins.