Stephanie Stella 

Gadis (Young Woman) 

Oil and Acrylic on Canvas 

24 x 18 inches

This work depicts a young woman in traditional cloth where repeating patterns are inherited systems of meaning. As an Indonesian artist with Chinese ancestry, I am attentive to how customs can become sites of "preservation and pressure." The figure is partially absorbed into these motifs, reflecting how identity is shaped through collective memory. She "remains in dialogue with tradition, shaped by culture while quietly shaping herself in return."