The sun is scorching. Vehicles pass and crowd the surroundings. Thin smoke goes up in the air from the burning incense from inside the Sam Poo Kong Temple. Behind the red walls around the temple in Semarang, a 12-meter statue is erected.
The sculpted figure is Admiral Cheng Ho, a Chinese sailor sent by the Ming Dynasty around 1405 AD to lead a diplomatic and trade expedition to various countries, including the Indonesian archipelago. Besides Semarang, Cheng Ho’s fleet also stopped by the northern coast of Java, including Cirebon.

While docking in Cirebon, Cheng Ho’s fleet had the opportunity to build a relationship with the Padjajaran Empire, which at the time ruled over the city. They gave souvenirs in the forms of ceramic porcelain, silk, and a few other things to show gratitude. Not only that, Cheng Ho built a lighthouse in Cirebon’s coast as his gesture of support to the locals.

Six hundred years have passed since Cheng Ho’s fleet first touched down on those cities. Semarang and Cirebon have since changed with the times. Cheng Ho’s footprints across Java have slowly been washed away with time, but the stories remain in the people’s collective memories.

Through this mixed-media work, I imagine taking Cheng Ho to revisit the places he was said to have been during his time in those two cities. Together with Cheng Ho, walking in the present to relive old memories.