Measurements play an important part in our lives and form the basis of our mindset, instinct and intelligence. How we perceive the world and how we shape the world around us is a direct reflection on measurement and proportion in relations to the human body. This performance takes inspiration from a grain of rice, a traditional measurement unit in a shared agrarian heritage of Southeast Asia. It was this common measurement unit that made commerce in the region possible. However, measurements also serve other purposes beyond commerce. Measurements are also a system of quantification for building and dwelling. In an archipelago like Indonesia, a diversity of systems of measurement also diversifies the process of worlding itself.

Mella Jaarsma invited four performers with diverse ethnical and cultural backgrounds in Indonesia to collaborate with her. Based on each dancer’s ontological understanding of preferred correlations, namely length, weight, time and distance (interspace), the artist creates an art object for each individual. After the objects take shape, she welcomes the performers to interact with the artworks according to their own understanding of the world. “The Size of Rice II” digs into measurements of objects, like a grain of rice, as well as measurements between objects and the body.

Concept: Mella Jaarsma | Performers: Abdi Karya, Siska Aprisia, Pebri Irawan, Ari Dwianto | Wood constructions: Octo Cornelius | Video: Anita Reza Zein | Light: Banjar Andura