This world is a village. A house. A gathering ground.
Sampai, Tak Sampai (to arrive, not to arrive) is a multidisciplinary live performance currently in development created by visual and performance artist Jumaadi and composer and sound designer Michael Toisuta. The work grows from Jumaadi’s paintings and unfurls through projection, sound and performance examining the complexity of migration driven by political or natural catastrophes, both between and within countries. It reflects on love, strength, longing, separation, displacement and loneliness.
Drawing inspiration from wayang beber, an ancient storytelling form where painting is the heart of the performance, Sampai, Tak Sampai speaks to real histories such as the Gajahmungkur Dam, an Indonesian government project in the late 1970s that forced entire communities, including a village of wayang kulit artisans, to leave their ancestral land. The work centres on landscapes that carry memories like these, where events have caused boyongan (the act of carrying all your belongings, hopes and dreams when relocating a home) and bedol deso (picking up and re-assembling an entire village in a new location). Such destruction of land and community is a global issue that has echoed across the world for generations and continues today, touching every human life in ways both visible and unseen.
The performance brings Jumaadi’s intricate paintings to life through multiple cameras, projections and the presence of performers. Audiences are invited to encounter the images in ways that step outside the usual gallery experience. Some paintings are created on stage and projected as they emerge, giving the work its own sense of ephemerality. These choices shape a shared experience where the audience sees a painting grow, shift and breathe. Michael Toisuta’s sound world deepens this encounter and creates a parallel narrative, weaving natural environments, human voice and music into a space that feels intimate and expansive at the same time.
The team are approaching their second research and development stage – working in Indonesia and Australia – and are working towards a late 2026 premiere.
