In this episode, I’m joined by an artist, a good friend, and a mentor of mine, FX Harsono. I’ve known Pak Harsono for many years now and have learned so much about my own Chinese-ancestry and history in Indonesia. During the New Order in 1967, Chinese Indonesians were forced to change their names into Indonesian-sounding names and were forbidden to practice our traditions publicly including celebrating Chinese New Year. FX Harsono was only 18 years old when he was forced to change his name, an experience that he later revisited in his seminal and moving work Writing in the rain. In this heartwarming and quite emotional conversation, we talked about the power of art in uncovering hidden histories and in healing. We talked about the politics of name, what’s in a name, and what kind of meaning it carries within our identity, memory, belonging, and the ways in which we persevere and survive through history and changing times.

Full podcast notes: https://talkingcontemporary.com/episodes/fxharsono

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