Born in 1968 in Malaysia, Nadiah Bamadhaj was trained as a sculptor at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. She is currently based in Indonesia and produces work ranging from drawings to those in the video and digital medium.‘Quiet Rooms’ articulates the trying time in the life of a married couple attempting to start a family in Yogyakarta’s ‘kampung’ (Malay for village) context. The writhing snakes on the male figure act as emotional demons and, at the same time, a guiding protective force. The idea of surveillance – connoting the uninvited interference of the villagers into the woman’s married and personal life – is evoked by a Javanese house with its haughty roof finish and a pair of loudhailers, as they imply observation and declaration on the private life of the couple.
