Fluid Kinship, Chapter 1: Watershed

ara contemporary is pleased to share Ipeh Nur's 'Pura Bencana (Disaster Temple)' (2026), presented as part of 'Fluid Kinship, Chapter 1: Watershed', curated by Yipei Lee and Mella Jaarsma.

Exploring water as a shared force connecting communities, landscapes and the sacred, 'Fluid Kinship' considers the ecological and cultural relationships surrounding Bali's Subak system.

Inspired by the Batur caldera, Ipeh Nur constructs a series of overturned 'bokor', traditional Balinese ceremonial vessels used to hold offerings such as water and rice. Arranged in three sections, they echo the tiered roof structure of a Balinese temple (pura) and the flow of water from upstream to downstream. Turned upside down, the vessels become a metaphor for overflow and disaster, no longer able to contain what they once sustained. Reflecting on the loss of rice fields, land conversion and large-scale development, the work questions the changing relationship between water, spirituality and the communities that depend on it.