About JAF
Based in Jatiwangi, West Java, JAF is an art collective working at the intersection of art and everyday life. For more than 2 decades, the collective has developed projects in collaboration with local communities, responding to the social, cultural and economic context of the area. The conversation explores JAF's approach to community-based artistic practice, drawing on Syarifuddin's six-week residency at De Poorthuisjes and his presentation IN DE KOST, part of Ode to the Community/Klazien-o-theek, alongside the practices of Club Lokaal in Breda and De Appel in Amsterdam.
Sugar
The second part of the conversation focuses on Syarifuddin's long-term research into sugar production in Jatiwangi. Sugar has played a central role in the history of the region and connects questions of colonialism, land and labor with the lives of local communities. Syarifuddin's research examines these histories and the ways in which people in Jatiwangi continue to relate to and reclaim the land shaped by the sugar industry.
