Otniel Tasman responded to Enka Komariah and Dwi Oblo’s installation artwork collaboration, Life In Death, Death In Life, by conducting a performative lecture amid the objects of the displayed installation. Utilizing Nyawiji as the core concept for the performance, Otniel deliberated on metaphors of the ‘in-between body’ and its aesthetic potential in grappling with the maelstrom of conflicts, rules, and any form of classification. Otniel responded to the artwork by Enka and Oblo not only by rendering his own body, but also by intervening with the installation objects which consequently created a new structure from the visual chronicles previously composed by Enka and Oblo. Subsequently, this performative lecture prompted possible schemes of the installation itself by presenting spiritually-driven polemics and questions related to reincarnation models in life.

*Nyawiji is a Javanese spiritual term, meaning “being one or joining together in a unification.” The priority of unity with the universe is prominent in ancient Javanese thought. The Javanese sometimes interpret this realm of nature as divine nature. Accordingly, a human being experiences a union of the subject with his Lord or a union of man with God (Yumara, A. 1996. Unity in Diversity A Philosophical and Ethical Study of the Javanese Concept of Keselarasan. Pontificia università gregoriana.)

*Nyawiji, in the Javanese aesthetic, is connected to self-confidence, and concentration defines the inner state of the dancers. As the dance concentrates (nyawiji), the movements move by themselves, and the dancer “faces God,” a meditative dimension. (Yumara, A. 1996. Unity in Diversity A Philosophical and Ethical Study of the Javanese Concept of Keselarasan. Pontificia università gregoriana.)