NorthSite Contemporary Arts and Padepokan Seni Bagong Kussudiardja (PSBK) present a special screening of Sitting with the Sea (Dialog Lensa #6) — an immersive experience in image and live sound.
Photographer Vickram Sombu (Photographer and filmmaker from Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara) shares images created during his time with the community of Lamalera in East Nusa Tenggara, tracing their profound connection to Mother Sea (Ina Lefa). Developed with Yogyakarta-based photographer and curator Kurniadi Widodo, the work journeys across oceans from Lamelera to Yogyakarta to Gimuy/Cairns, carrying stories of culture, survival, and reverence.
Australian mulitdiscipinary artists Melania Jack and Patty Preece (The Ironing Maidens) build upon Sombu’s photography to create a live, immersive soundscape that dissolves the boundaries between stage, performer, and audience. Sound and light moves through the space, inviting multiple perspectives and shared presence.
Presented at the Tanks Arts Centre by NorthSite in April 2026, this event celebrates an ongoing cross-cultural exchange between Far North Queensland and Yogyakarta.
Sit together. Absorb the images. Listen deeply. Experience a story that invites empathy, connection, and community. After the performance, join the artists for a discussion exploring the development of the work and the meanings it holds for us as international audiences.
About PSBK
PSBK (Padepokan Seni Bagong Kussudiardja) is a place-based arts centre that champions the arts as a vital necessity for humanity and the advancement of culture. Established in 1978 to support a curriculum-driven residency program for Indonesian creative practitioners, PSBK continues the late Bagong Kussudiardja’s commitment to artistic innovation, creative learning, access to the arts, and pushing strategies in new directions. Since 2009, significant physical transformations have transpired to ensure high-quality, accessible spaces that nurture the relational development between the arts, artists, and communities through creative learning and art appreciation activities.
PSBK was founded with the DNA of education—both education in the arts and education through the arts. Recognising art as essential for humanity and cultural advancement, PSBK strives to ensure quality and accessibility to art venues as essential resource centres. It seeks to enhance human capacity by developing professional growth within the art ecosystem and beyond, and to foster the art appreciation process by consistently implementing annual programs that cultivate deeper relationships among art, artists, and audiences.
Valuing human connectivity, PSBK also strives to nurture cultural exchanges that nourish growth, shared objectives, and collective purpose. The organisation seeks collaborations with people who genuinely align with its mission and are open to mutual discovery, understanding, and inspiration.
About Dialog Lensa
Performing captivating visual narratives through lens-based technology.
Dialog Lensa is a performance platform that showcases photography-based works through multimedia projections.
Since its inception in 2020, this expressive space has brought together photographers and other creators, including musicians, choreographers, and video editors, fostering a cross-disciplinary creative process facilitated by PSBK.
This platform aims to connect visually driven and technology-based works with a diverse audience interested in both visual and performing arts.
