NAVA Artist File: Jayanto Tan

Jayanto Tan is a Sydney-based visual artist who was born and raised in a small town in North Sumatra to a Sumatran-Christian mother and Guandong-Taoist father. His practice draws on his family history and diasporic background, blending Eastern and Western mythologies with the contemporary world and current events. Through interactive performance and installations, his work often investigates how hybrid cultures can create new identities of possibility and hope.
In this video, Jayanto chats about sentimentality and nostalgia in the art-making process, using art as a silent protest, and the joys of connecting with his community and audience through exhibiting.