Traces on the Plate: Habis // Sisa Exhibition by Yooza

In the quiet that follows a finished meal—when plates are empty and only crumbs remain—what stories are left behind? Habis // Sisa is a solo exhibition by Debora E. Yuza, better known as Yooza, that attempts to answer this question. Presented by Canvas Confluence Collective, the exhibition features tray imprints, large-format canvases, and a variety of experimental materials that uncover the hidden poetry of leftovers. Habis // Sisa invites the public into a conversation about memory, consumption, and the complex beauty found in everyday life.

In this exhibition, Yooza—a visual artist—uses her journey as a lens to explore the meaning embedded in food remnants. Far from trivial, her watercolor and gouache paintings transform the remains of everyday meals into quiet, contemplative tableaux. A crust of bread, a stained paper napkin, or the ring of sauce left on a ceramic plate becomes a meditation on endings and the beginnings they often lead to.

Yooza’s works delicately capture the emotional residue of these moments. In one series, imprints from used food trays reveal raw, ghostly traces of recently finished meals. The stains, oil marks, and scattered crumbs resemble abstract compositions that evoke feelings of loss, satisfaction, and fleeting presence. Another series features gouache paintings of half-eaten dishes—rendered with precision, yet purposefully imperfect—reflecting human touch and the act of consumption itself.

Yooza’s artistic path is anything but conventional. With a background in marketing from Deakin University in Melbourne, she began her career in the corporate world. But in 2017, she picked up her brush in her spare time, drawn to the soft fluidity of watercolor. What began as a hobby gradually became a calling. Through self-teaching and constant exploration, she developed a distinctive illustration style centered on food, embracing its tactile and emotional resonance.

Habis // Sisa resists grandeur. Instead, the exhibition dwells in subtle, nearly invisible moments: the emptiness of a tray, the solitude of a single bite left behind. In a culture that often glorifies perfect dishes and polished presentations, this exhibition shifts focus to what we discard. It asks us to pause—not just before eating, but after.

Habis // Sisa is on view through July 30 at spaCCCe Jakarta, Grand Wijaya Center, Block C No. 22.