The Sea is Barely Wrinkled: Fragments of History, Nature, and Memory by Kei Imazu

Kei Imazu enmeshes history, nature, and memory to form a complex visual narrative at her first solo exhibition in Indonesia, “The Sea is Barely Wrinkled”, at Museum MACAN.

On view from May 24 to October 5, 2025, the exhibition marks a significant milestone for the Bandung-based Japanese artist. The title is borrowed from Mr. Palomar (1983), a novel by Italian writer Italo Calvino, which uses the sea as a metaphor for continuity and hidden depth. Just as the ocean appears calm on the surface while concealing powerful currents beneath, Imazu’s exploration of history delves into the layered, ever-shifting forces that lie beneath the visible.

The Sea is Barely Wrinkled is anchored in Imazu’s research into Sunda Kelapa, a historic port in North Jakarta that has served as a maritime hub from the pre-colonial era through the Dutch East India Company (VOC). The pieces exhibited draw attention to the 1629 wreck of the Batavia off the coast of Western Australia—an event that symbolizes the unraveling of colonial ambition in the face of nature’s overwhelming force.

“The ship actually sailed in 1628 from Amsterdam, intending to reach Batavia, the glorified new city built by the Dutch colonials. But in June 1629, after its maiden voyage, it sank in Australia. What once stood as a symbol of colonial pride ended up lost at sea,” Imazu told Grafis Masa Kini in an interview on May 22.

Imazu’s work has enlivened the echoes of ecology, drawing a cartography of harm that locates its beginnings from colonial ambition with the present-day ecological crisis that has shaped Jakarta’s coast (i.e., highlighting the experiences of recurring floods, land subsidence, and other environmental challenges) and speculate on the city’s uncertain future. Responding to these occurrences, Imazu presents what she calls a “time map”—a visual framework that abandons linear chronology in favor of a more fluid interweaving of past, present, and future. “There’s actually a flow throughout the exhibition, as you come in, you see the myth of Nyi Roro Kidul, and then in the middle, you see the shipwreck, discovering history. Then, in the front, you see an analogy of Jakarta that is sinking, indicative of a future. It’s very symbolic of each item; each item is reflective of what happened in the past, and it reflects on what could happen in the city,” Imazu explained.

Imazu’s practice combines traditional painting with digital manipulation and 3D modeling, drawing on historical events, archival materials, artifacts, and local mythologies to examine the entanglements of colonialism, environmental change, and urban evolution.

Since moving to Indonesia, Imazu has been struck by how history is viewed not as static or sealed off in the past, but as a living force transmitted through oral traditions, rituals, and nature itself. This reverence for historiography is apparent in her artworks by the central presence of mythological figures like Dewi Sri and Nyai Roro Kidul—symbols of the spiritual connections between land, sea, and humanity. “It reflects that nature could overcome ambition, as we know Nyi Roro Kidul has power in people’s beliefs. And that power can empower those around her– the people around her. Nature has vengeance; responding to injustice,” said Imazu.

Venus Lau, Director of Museum MACAN, remarked, “We are proud to present The Sea is Barely Wrinkled, Kei Imazu’s first solo museum exhibition in Indonesia. Her work invites us to experience time and history as something fluid and alive, like the sea. Through her richly imaginative practice, she weaves together mythology, ecology, and memory in ways that feel both timeless and urgently relevant in our lives today. This exhibition offers the public a space to reflect on our deep, often-overlooked, relationship with the natural world and the layered history that shapes it.”

Imazu concluded, “I am deeply honored to present my first museum solo exhibition in Indonesia at Museum MACAN. It has been an incredibly enriching experience to explore Jakarta's complex history and environmental issues through my artistic practice. Often, invisible or forgotten forces quietly shape our present realities. Myths possess the voice to communicate these unseen narratives, and I aimed to create an exhibition that gives form to that voice.”