Citra Sasmita’s artistic journey in investigating the intersections of tradition, spirituality, and mythology with the acceleration and modernity of contemporary life has been unfolding since 2018. Her solo exhibition, Pulse of Ritual (Denyut Ritual), is the culmination of a long exploration of how Balinese communities live in coexistence with nature—mountains and seas—within an unbroken cycle of life. Amid ongoing environmental and existential upheavals, ritual emerges as an embodied practice that sustains a delicate balance between anxiety over these disturbances and hope for the blessings they may bring.
As an artist, Citra not only studies artistic practices and spiritual traditions rooted in Bali’s local histories but also examines how colonial history forcibly shaped modern ways of life by creating distance from local knowledge systems and marginalizing indigenous historical narratives. For her, ritual is also a spiritual journey through which trauma and violence—both historical and ongoing—can be acknowledged, interpreted, and transformed.
Within the context of colonialism, ritual functions as both a political instrument and a form of resistance. It persists as a living pulse that affirms resilience: in resistance to colonial hierarchies of power, to the objectification and exoticization of culture, and to singular historical narratives that often overlook women’s roles in cultural history. More broadly, Pulse of Ritual evokes a spiral cycle that is constantly in motion—interconnected and unbroken—twisting its way from the past into the present.
As an artist, Citra not only studies artistic practices and spiritual traditions rooted in Bali’s local histories but also examines how colonial history forcibly shaped modern ways of life by creating distance from local knowledge systems and marginalizing indigenous historical narratives. For her, ritual is also a spiritual journey through which trauma and violence—both historical and ongoing—can be acknowledged, interpreted, and transformed.
Within the context of colonialism, ritual functions as both a political instrument and a form of resistance. It persists as a living pulse that affirms resilience: in resistance to colonial hierarchies of power, to the objectification and exoticization of culture, and to singular historical narratives that often overlook women’s roles in cultural history. More broadly, Pulse of Ritual evokes a spiral cycle that is constantly in motion—interconnected and unbroken—twisting its way from the past into the present.
