Muhamad Ali Rahim

The idea of ​​this work arose from curiosity, that at one time there was a time how amazing an agricultural crop could even beat the “charisma” of gold and diamond sparkles. It is only small fruit, seeds hidden in its shells, flowers and leaves, even just the bark of a tree trunk — it is a spice. Its attractiveness invited European expeditions tens of thousands of miles to the “East” for more than two centuries since 1600 AD. This exploration eventually created a shipping route known today as the “Spice route”. This work is intended as a visual representation of the ironic concept of “beauty” on the one hand, but it causes a dark period of colonialism to a nation in the “East” part of the world on the other. This work, entitled “Exoteast-Lawangplaga”, is a combination of the words “Exotic”, “East”, “Lawang Flower”, and “pelaga” (cardamom); the concept is: “the beauty of spices as a natural attraction of the eastern hemisphere”. The method in creating this work begins with the collection and then processing of visual data and article data about spices. Visual concepts are explored until they are relevant to the narrative. The work is made with a simple technique, namely “Digital Collage Appropiation” using a digital editor application on Android. This work is sourced from several online articles, including “Indonesian Spices – History and 14 Types of Original Indonesian Spices” (https://rimbakita.com/rempah-indonesia/), and “Replicas of the Batavia Ship, Reconstruction of the Dark History of the VOC” (https: / /kumparan.com/absal-bachtiar/).