Born in 1973 in South Kalimantan, Diah Yulianti graduated from Institut Seni Indonesia, Yogyakarta in 1997. For her graduate thesis, she studied the animist beliefs and ritual practices of the remote orang buik (Hill people) of Loksado in her native South Kalimantan, producing a body of works which draws its theme from the metaphysical realm and incorporates indigenous materials such as natural fibre and wood.“Hunian” belongs to this series. “Hunian” translated to mean dwelling or house, and in this instance, is invoked as a physical representation of the metaphysical habitat of the spirit world, thus forwarding the notion of a parallel realm of existence, one not entirely different in needs and habits from the physical existence of the hill people whose belief constitute the basis for the work’s thesis.
