Just One Thing with Ifada Nisa

“The photo was taken during a road trip with my family, which reminds me of the fleeting feeling of joy while knowing that this will pass.”

Ifada Nisa’s artwork graces not only our March online issue, but also the cover of our brand new print issue! Here she shares just one thing about her piece “Selamat Malam”:

“Selamat Malam came to mind when I recognized my own fear towards the end of the day when we wrap up and sleep. My teacher said, 'sleeping is when the astral body and the spirit become separate from the physical body.' My other teacher said that sleeping is our practice to surrender (our practice to prepare for death). There are times when I wake up in the middle of the night and contemplate emptiness, and other times when traumas knock on my door, wake me up with the screaming of my mother’s voice only to recognize that it's all in my head. I experience multiple bad dreams, strange dreams, dreams of being attacked. And over all of those inconvenient experiences through the night, I try to question: What is darkness? Why are we so afraid of it? Why are we so afraid of letting go and surrender?

Uncertainty is darkness. Difficult emotion is darkness. Memories of traumas, wounds, longing, or the sense of losing the self are darkness. But that doesn't mean darkness is a total villain. It is our perception which labelled them as bad.

Selamat Malam pieces is a greeting. I want it as a lullaby: to warm up the heart and the mind, and preparing surrender. And perhaps with the power of what we don't understand, we can let go and have a nice sleep.

Selamat Malam is an Indonesian greeting, translated to 'Good Night' in English.”