Dialog Lensa 1&2: SERAKAH & BERSIAR SINAR Special Screening

NorthSite Contemporary Arts and PSBK are proud to present a special screening of SERAKAH (Dialog Lensa #1) and BERSIAR SINAR (Dialog Lensa #2) at Bulmba-ja Theatre —an event that celebrates an ongoing cross-cultural exchange between Far North Queensland and Yogyakarta. This partnership, strengthened through Artslink’s Regional // Regional initiative, continues to build space for artistic dialogue, experimentation, and shared learning between Australia and Indonesia. Our special screening as part of our final exhibition season, marks an important moment in this growing relationship, offering audiences an opportunity to experience the early works of the Dialog Lensa platform and the creative voices emerging from PSBK’s dynamic community.

These films also serve as an exciting introduction to future Dialog Lensa creations that will be developed through this multi-year connection and shared with audiences at NorthSite Contemporary Arts in 2026. Rooted in PSBK’s long-standing commitment to cultural preservation, collaboration, and boundary-pushing artistic practice—from its architecturally designed campus in Kembaran to its cross-disciplinary programs—Dialog Lensa brings photography, performance, sound, and moving image into powerful conversation. By presenting these works in Bulmba-ja Theatre, NorthSite invites local audiences to step into this evolving exchange of ideas, creative risk-taking, and culturally rich storytelling that continues to grow between our two regions.

SERAKAH (Dialog Lensa #1)

A powerful and immersive multi-media performance rooted in a photographic series by Ulet Ifansasti, documenting the accelerating global climate crisis. The creative process involved close collaboration between the editor, Adit, and the musician, Kidjing, who worked together to build and reinforce the resonance of the photographs. The piece was constructed from various artistic perspectives to achieve a strong, immersive quality.

Through this profound artistic experience, the artists encourage the audience to seriously reflect on this major crisis. They suggest that although the core issue may seem distant from our everyday routines, it is essential to take the time to truly feel its presence.

BERSIAR SINAR (Dialog Lensa #2)

Dialog Lensa #2 is one of the many art activities seeking to find relevance in artistic expression during the Covid-19 pandemic. Created through the integration of two platforms with different characteristics, a digital magazine published by Sokong! Publish was transformed into a short film featuring photographic projection. This integration and media transformation became one of the most relevant approaches to artistic practice in the pandemic era. Undeniably, this method opens opportunities for collaboration and generates new tensions—tensions that shape the “new normal” as we transition beyond the pandemic.

The photography series from contributors are read, dismantled, rearranged, categorised, and realigned in response to the projection surface. The photographs become flexible material within the creative process, their capacity to adapt to projection media fully utilized. Throughout the process, many adjustments are required, especially regarding proportions that influence scale, spatial composition, cinematography, and soundscape. These adjustments function as an intermedia dialectic.

Photography as a medium may not have a direct link to the pandemic. However, like many other sectors, its systems and infrastructure have also been disrupted. Between the slow passage of time and the limits of confined space, we are inevitably forced to imagine…

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. Recognizing 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.