Sani was doing her daily prayers when I arrived at her place, holding a tray filled with flowers, incense and offerings. She was expressing her gratitude and honour to the Gods. A softly-spoken woman in a white kebaya and with cropped hair, I see a blend of the traditional and modern figure in her.
Her home is clearly a sanctuary for her. It is cool and calming, some huge paintings nearly covering the entire wall in her living room. Sani has turned a front sitting room into her studio where she was finishing a piece of art during our interview. The studio has a soft natural light, white curtains billowing in the breeze, the perfect backdrop to the peaceful aura you immediately in Sani’s presence.
Starting with her interest in photography when she was a teenage girl, Sani would pay attention to details like the colour of soil and flowers, shadows, and even textures that lead her to experiment with her own colour mixing, and finally formulating her own palette signature.
Coming from a family of 12 siblings, mostly girls, Sani is the only one who has gone into art and she attended the Indonesian Art College. Female figures and fashion are the inspiration for Sani’s paintings and her focus is on graceful, minimal, and feminine forms. Modern fashion with a glamorous and dramatic flair.
For Sani, she can clearly see the circle of life in women, from childhood, a young woman finding herself, becoming a mother, and growing old. Just like the circle of life in nature, from a bud into a blossom and then fading. Sani sees beauty in that journey.
Sani is a multitalented artist. She moves between photography, designing fashion, painting, writing songs and singing, and writing poetry. Her first book of poetry is awaiting publication. Through her work, she translates her life experiences so beautifully and with compassion, speaking for and to other women to follow their dreams with courage, optimism and hard work.
