The project allows us to pick and choose a topic that needed to be decolonized. In this case, my background as an Indonesian took me to the story behind my favorite condiment called sambal.
The project allows us to pick and choose a topic that needed to be decolonized. In this case, my background as an Indonesian took me to the story behind my favorite condiment called sambal.
What is sambal?
Sambal is a traditional condiment usually found in many indonesian households and restaurants around the country. Similar to ketchup, it is a staple detail to every food because of its historical standing with the history of the country's independence.
Sambal is a traditional condiment usually found in many indonesian households and restaurants around the country. Similar to ketchup, it is a staple detail to every food because of its historical standing with the history of the country's independence.
How to build the story of the book?
How to build the story of the book?
Hot Spell takes you through stages of stories from the start of the dutch indies colonization in the eastern part of Indonesia. Transitioning to the effects happening in Indonesia after independence day and the idea that all success was credited to the dutch. Meanwhile, they stole spices, created trauma, and at the end helped us learn the pain that created this magnificent sauce.
Hot Spell takes you through stages of stories from the start of the dutch indies colonization in the eastern part of Indonesia. Transitioning to the effects happening in Indonesia after independence day and the idea that all success was credited to the dutch. Meanwhile, they stole spices, created trauma, and at the end helped us learn the pain that created this magnificent sauce.
Wooden Pestle
Treated chili imagery
Chilis at a organic supermarket
Wooden Pestle
Treated chili imagery
Chilis at a organic supermarket
Wooden Pestle
Treated chili imagery
Chilis at a organic supermarket
Wooden Pestle
Treated chili imagery
Chilis at a organic supermarket
Imagery, Effect treatment, Thought process
Imagery, Effect treatment, Thought process
Hotspell takes places before 1945, way before Indonesia received their independence. This affects the way I can choose what treatments to put in the book. Clarity wasn't part of that era, imperfection was. Adding noise treatment worked well with the concept. Since the topic includes the idea of spices as well as showing that sambal is basically a spicy condiment, it makes sense to photograph chili in a different way. Raw images with vibrant colors portray how contrasting situations were back then. In this case, a mind map of question is shown to help me think what other aspects that I can translate visually about this subject.
Visualizing pain and torture through vibrant imagery.
Red Chilli
HEX #FF0000 CMYK 0%, 70%, 82%, 14%
Red Chilli
HEX #FF0000 CMYK 0%, 70%, 82%, 14%
Green Chilli
HEX #4C7B00 CMYK 0%, 70%, 82%, 14%
Green Chilli
HEX #4C7B00 CMYK 0%, 70%, 82%, 14%
Dream cream
HEX #C8A263 CMYK 0%, 70%, 82%, 14%
Dream cream
HEX #C8A263 CMYK 0%, 70%, 82%, 14%
Natural-derived color
Here is where the color of the book is taken. Chilis from the subject, cream color from the past imagery found and displayed as part of the research. Making sure that both the era and the story behind this
Scaling up the book to a poster
Here is where we extended the view of the book to a larger audience. The chosen picture creates tension as the Point of view is now directed to the audience looking at it. The burnt out color looks to it showcases the heat of the sauce we've been talking about in the book. Ideally this poster will be displayed in crowded places, like subway stops, sides of a building.
Scaling up the book to a poster
Here is where we extended the view of the book to a larger audience. The chosen picture creates tension as the Point of view is now directed to the audience looking at it. The burnt out color looks to it showcases the heat of the sauce we've been talking about in the book. Ideally this poster will be displayed in crowded places, like subway stops, sides of a building.
Unveiling the truth and heat behind Indonesia's rich and famous Sambal. This book takes you on a journey where I invite you to reconsider a historical distortion perpetrated by the Dutch Indies toward Indonesia across all sectors of life—a distortion I've embedded into this bowl of mixed spices. It's the first of its kind, and I believe that learning how colonization affected something you've enjoyed your whole life could be life-changing.
I direct you inside the story of when the Dutch Indies arrived, alongside the fact that six other countries, before and after them, colonized this nation. Through this work, I'm decolonizing the story and visually presenting it with a contemporary look.
Unveiling the truth and heat behind Indonesia's rich and famous Sambal. This book takes you on a journey where I invite you to reconsider a historical distortion perpetrated by the Dutch Indies toward Indonesia across all sectors of life—a distortion I've embedded into this bowl of mixed spices. It's the first of its kind, and I believe that learning how colonization affected something you've enjoyed your whole life could be life-changing.
I direct you inside the story of when the Dutch Indies arrived, alongside the fact that six other countries, before and after them, colonized this nation. Through this work, I'm decolonizing the story and visually presenting it with a contemporary look.
