The Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art is pleased to announce the forthcoming featured exhibition Mulyana: Vital Ecosystems, on view February 7–June 28, 2026.
The museum’s Featured Exhibition Gallery will be transformed into an imaginative underwater landscape inspired by Indonesia’s stunning coral reef ecosystem. In this immersive installation, visitors will encounter hundreds of textile corals, fish, and other aquatic life. Varying in size and complexity, these sculptures were hand-knit and crocheted using repurposed materials by the acclaimed fiber artist Mulyana (b. 1984, Bandung, Indonesia).
Mulyana draws on Indonesia’s rich textile and folklore traditions in his community-engaged artistic practice. His work confronts urgent global environmental and social issues, like climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, and widespread loneliness and social isolation. His approach emphasizes celebration of the natural world and the value of community, inviting audiences to gather, explore, and play. As Mulyana’s first solo show in the Midwest, this exhibition offers a unique opportunity to bring the ocean to Indiana and reminds us that landlocked communities are part of a watershed linked to the ocean and its coral reefs.
The exhibition features sculptures on loan from the artist’s workshop—Mogus Studio—in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and Sapar Contemporary, New York. The three sections underscore the deep connection between human wellbeing and the vitality of the ocean by illustrating the impact of climate change on a coral reef ecosystem. The initial vibrant reef turns white, representing corals that have experienced a mass bleaching event. This stress response to severe water temperature changes is caused by climate change, pollution, and other destructive human activities. The black, decayed corals in the final section highlight humanity’s disconnection from nature and the stark consequences of our actions on the planet.
Pamela Buell Curator of Asian Art, Natasha Kimmet shares, "As the museum’s first exhibition showcasing the work of a living artist from Southeast Asia, this is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the arts of global Asia at IU. This exhibition offers our community a distinct way of experiencing art at the Eskenazi Museum that emphasizes a very personal, embodied exploration of the natural world and our place in it. Here in Bloomington, it is easy to feel disconnected from the ocean and climate change. In Mulyana’s somewhat surreal ecosystem, we feel loss and devastation but also awe and a desire to care for the planet and our fellow beings.”
A community space in the gallery will give visitors the opportunity to engage in self-guided fiber craft activities. Visitors can discover Indiana’s aquatic geological history through materials developed in collaboration with the Indiana Geological and Water Survey, including the generous loan of four coral fossils.
"The immersive environment created by Mulyana will inspire curiosity and wonder,” said Mindy N. Besaw, Wilma E. Kelley Director. “The exhibition is timely and relevant and will connect disciplines and cultural centers across campus in lively and thought-provoking ways.”
