Ritual Ceng Beng: Jayanto Tan

Jayanto Tan’s ceramic offerings were originally created over conversations with family and friends during COVID-19 lockdowns. Whilst navigating personal racial attacks, gender identity, queerness, migration and familial narratives, Jayanto has translated these charged conversations into ceramic still-lives—or ‘soul foods’ as the artist describes—which are ceremonially presented within the gallery as a continuum of conversational pieces.

Through this installation, Jayanto invites audiences to share in intimate realms related to personal memories, celebrations of queer friendship, and honouring the loss of family members. The gallery is theatrically and metaphorically transformed into a temple of love, becoming a space for spiritual gathering and remembering loved ones. Inspired by Sumatran ceremony, Jayanto’s installation offers a space for ritual, mediation, healing and time alone, articulated through a contemporary arts practice.