‘Bird of Paradise’ is part of a video work Susiarjo was working on in 2016, when she captured footage of lights and shadows cast on urban surfaces for a video project. At the same time, she wrote haikus as part of her observations. 'Bird of Paradise' is one of the haikus, resulting from that process. There is a notion of contemplation and gazing in the stillness of morning, when the sunlight which falls on the wall, resembles a beautiful feather of a bird. The title was chosen as a reference to the tropical environment we are living in. It is a serene scene, but one that suggests a hopeful beginning.

About the artist
Betty Susiarjo is a mixed media artist whose work engages concept of temporality, materiality and sublimity. Her recent work discusses light and shadow as materials and connotations in one’s experience and encounter of beauty. She writes poems and haikus and regards them as one of her artistic processes. In 2019, her work was seen in Personal Structures: Identities, organised by The European Cultural Centre, Venice, Italy, in conjuction with the Venice Biennale. Currently, she is based between Israel and Singapore.