In this very personal comic trilogy, visual artist and ethnographer Asmara S. Wigati takes us on their journey migrating across islands in Indonesia in search of a better life. This final episode ends the trilogy in a hopeful note of how queer people have always been at the heart of collective care.
Category: Voices
Posted inComic
A Tale of Queer Migration – Transition
In this very personal comic trilogy, visual artist and ethnographer Asmara S. Wigati takes us on their journey migrating across islands in Indonesia in search of a better life. This second episode contemplates the bureaucratic troubles trans people are forced to go through in their job search and other necessary businesses in life.
Posted inComic
A Tale of Queer Migration – Separation & Liminality
In this very personal comic, visual artist and ethnographer Asmara S. Wigati takes us on their journey migrating across islands in Indonesia in search of a better life. This first episode tells of their musings on the liminality that we all go through at some point in our lives, but also one that queer people are very familiar with.
Posted inComic
The Journey of a Filipino Seafarer in Taiwan
Due to low wages in the Philippines, Kuya Ver was willing to take the risk of becoming a seafarer in Taiwan. However, the abuse that he and his crewmates suffered led to a man’s death and almost his own. Now, he is pushing for justice—and you, too, can help stop these cases from happening again.
Posted inComic
Courage is Collective: A Retrospective for Transgender Day of Visibility 2023
Editorial Manager Bonnibel Rambatan presents a personal experimental short comic on the idea of visibility, courage, and collective care for this year’s Transgender Day of Visibility.
Posted inArtists Respond
Honouring Trans Lives in Southeast Asia: Artists Respond to Transgender Day of Remembrance 2022
New Naratif’s Editorial Manager Bonnibel Rambatan talks to five other trans artists who have made works of art to commemorate this year’s Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Posted inComic
Don’t Let Them Kill My Mother: Confusion
Devy Christa receives a call from a friend on a Sunday morning who urges her to look at the television news. It turns out all the news is about her mother, Merry Utami, who is on her way to Nusa Kambangan—a highly secure prison in Indonesia.
Posted inComic
Don’t Let Them Kill My Mother: Fragments
Devy Christa remembers fragments of her memory with her mother. Her mother went away for quite a long time to become a migrant worker to provide money for the operation of Devy’s brother, Yossi. And now, Devy sees her mother again on television.
Posted inComic
Don’t Let Them Kill My Mother: Scapegoat
Devy Christa discovers the details about the case of her mother, Merry Utami, the same week the state plans to execute her. Her mother was manipulated by a foreign man named Jerry and underwent an unfair process of interrogation, trial, arrest, and detention for over a dozen years.
Posted inComic
Don’t Let Them Kill My Mother: Wishes
President Jokowi may have cancelled Merry Utami’s execution that day, but he never gave the clemency. To this day, Merry can still be executed at any time. Devy Christa continues to hope, “Don’t let them kill my mother”.