The Portrait of Omat Pet

This work represents a continued exploration of the history of Indonesian women during the Dutch colonial era. The primary inspiration is drawn from Reggie Baay’s book, “De Njai: Het Concubinaat in Nederlands-Indie,” published in 2008, which sparked discussions about “nyai” women and revealed patterns of their relationships during the colonial period in the Dutch East Indies.

The story of the nyai begins in the 17th century when VOC workers arrived in the archipelago. Unmarried VOC employees, such as cargo supervisors, soldiers, and ship crew members, turned to Indigenous women as concubines while awaiting suitable European wives. These women, often slaves working in the households of Europeans, reluctantly engaged in these relationships as concubines to survive and improve their economic conditions. The term “nyai” originates from the Balinese language and initially described ordinary women. However, its connotation changed as concubinage evolved, resulting in a shift in meaning and a negative connotation.

Through this artwork, I aim to resurrect the figure of one nyai, namely Oma Pet, a Sundanese woman who lived in the 1880s, in the form of a deconstructed sculpture. She met a Dutch man named Aart in Bandung, a railway supervisor for the Staatsspoorwegen company. Her life story, marked by shifts such as religious conversion and a tragic separation from her children, is reflected in the form of this sculpture. I seek to depict the ‘gray’ life of Oma Pet, trapped in the shadows of the dualism between indigenous and European cultures of that era. Through this work, I hope to pay tribute to the women who lived in uncertainty and hardship during the challenging historical period of colonial times.