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Merawat dan Terjerat (Caring and Entangled)
Embroidery on fabric
58cm x 39cm (three pieces)
2023

Recognizing that palm oil produces various derivatives essential for our daily needs, it is important to consider how our dependence on palm oil extends beyond consumption patterns to the fact that palm oil plantations serve as a primary source of livelihood for many people living in plantation areas. However, in order to meet this demand and dependency, the act of “maintaining” palm oil plantations also entails significant sacrifices: the preservation of forests, the well-being of both human and non-human life, access to adequate living spaces, rights to indigenous lands, as well as local cultural and ecological knowledge. Therefore, how should we approach the highly complex issue of palm oil plantations?

The power of the palm oil plantation industry has ensnared us in a state of dependency, and that same power not only exploits nature but also depletes human resources. By all means, palm oil plantations continue to encroach upon living spaces, leaving behind only monoculture forests that, for better or worse, must be “maintained.” The dilemma of whether to “care for” or “resist” the palm oil industry is not a simple one, particularly for communities living in plantation areas, as they are the ones most directly affected. There are few options for how they can lead their lives with autonomy, as their existence is controlled under the grasp of an extractive and colossal industry—the palm oil plantation.

At present, as far as we can see, the extractive power and the firm grip of the palm oil plantation industry have deepened and spread across every inch of land in our homeland. This industry has replaced the once-thriving natural landscape with vast monocultures of palm oil, gradually altering the dynamics of human and environmental life. It has severed our access to natural resources on our own land, and distanced us from our knowledge and cultural heritage. Today, we continue to live entangled in the ironic cycle of dependency on the palm oil plantation industry.