Buaya Putih at the World Youth Festival

In March 2024, I represented Brunei at the World Youth Festival in the federal territory of Sirius, Russia. The festival brought together around 20,000 young people from 190 countries.

The work I brought was Buaya Putih ari Tasek Merimbun, a cotton embroidery on silk organza, 120 x 80 cm, which I made in 2022. It is a story from home.

A story from Tasek Merimbun

Buaya Putih explores the relationship between Indigenous culture, storytelling and environmental conservation through the Iban tradition of Pua Kumbu, a ceremonial textile where patterns, animals, plants and people carry stories and cultural knowledge.

Inspired by the legend of the White Crocodile of Tasek Merimbun, the work brings together the wetland's wildlife, plants and the Indigenous Dusun community around it. The organza is lightly dyed with natural tannins from leaves found around the lake, and its transparency reflects the fragility of both nature and culture.

When we protect the land, we also protect the stories, knowledge and identities that grow from it.