This work is part of the ongoing project "Weaving the Ocean", initiated in 2020. In collaboration with a traditional Balinese weaving workshop, Bayuaji designs and produces unique, eco-conscious textile works, while also providing sustainable income for artisans and supporting local economies affected by the global pandemic. Together with locally recruited assistants, the artist collects and cleans colourful plastic ropes washed up along Bali’s coastlines, unravels them into fine threads, and transforms them into beautiful tapestries that celebrate his homeland’s rich textile culture. This collaboration with weavers, fishermen, and local residents reflects his belief in the importance of collective and community-based efforts, as well as the positive impact art can have on everyday life.
Rangda is a recurring figure in the artist’s work. In Balinese lore, Rangda is known as a Leyak queen, the incarnation of Calon Arang, the legendary witch who wreaked havoc in ancient Java during the reign of Airlangga in the late 10th century.


Ari Bayuaji (b. 1975, Indonesia) works between Montreal and Bali. His works are part of the permanent collections of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Pointe-à-Callière, Montreal Archaeology and History Complex, and the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal. Bayuaji’s work has been featured in major solo exhibitions in Singapore, Taipei (Taiwan), Ste-Alvère (France), Dusseldorf (Germany), Rotterdam, (Netherlands), Toronto, Sydney (Australia), Bangkok (Thailand), Washington DC (USA), Yogyakarta (Indonesia), Tokyo (Japan) and Quebec. Bayuaji presented installations from his ongoing Weaving the Ocean project at the Cheongju Craft Biennale and the 2023 Busan Sea Art Festival in South Korea and at the 2024 Bangkok Art Biennale. From 2023 to 2025, he presented a solo installation at Espace Pour la Vie at the Biosphère in Montreal. In 2025, a solo exhibition from the series Weaving the Ocean was presented by the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo in their Prince Takamado Gallery followed by installations at the Go for Kogei festival in Toyama (Japan), and then at Roppongi Art Night in Tokyo, presented by the Mori Art Museum. Recently, Bayuaji’s works were presented as part of a group exhibition at the Kyoto National Museum of Modern Art, and he was invited to present an installation at Art Basel Hong Kong 2026 in the Encounters section, curated by Mami Kataoka, Director of the Mori Art Museum (Tokyo). Currently, Ari Bayuaji’s work is on view in River of Pearls, his first solo museum exhibition in Canada, at the Musée d’art contemporain de Baie-Saint-Paul, as well as in the group exhibition Beyond the Pedestal: Sculptures in the Collection, from the 1960s to Today at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. In November 2026, Bayuaji’s work will be featured in the group exhibition Planes, Trains and Automobiles (and Bikes and Boats) at Art Windsor Essex, and he has been invited to participate in the 2027 Helsinki Art Biennale.