In Phantom Hands is an evolving, experimental shadow-play project inspired by personal memories of traditional Indonesian wayang performances. Blending over nimated shadow footage with extensive audio recordings, live performances, the work moves away from a single linear narrative and instead embraces a fluid, ever-changing structure that allows multiple perspectives and stories to coexist across different versions.

At its core, the project explores tensions between tradition and technology, connection and alienation. Although created digitally using handcrafted methods, the work reflects the conflicts with contemporary digital tools: seeking to retain a sense of tactility, humanity, and craft in an increasingly artificial landscape.

All technology has always been a way for new possibilities and connections. Yet, it has also always been a precursor to possible alienation from the past, from each other as individuals, and from our very human nature. The characters in the work all follow storylines inspired by these conflicts, conflicts I believe are possibly inherent to us as human beings: We see a gentle, loving mayor failing to unify his village and to connect with his daughter—who has dreams of transforming into a deer. An ambitious oracle who sees the possibility for innovation and life, yet fails to see the sacrifices. A brilliant collector of items and wealth who has all the material possessions one could imagine, who falls in love with their reflection in water. Three pompous swordsmen who equally feel overlooked, guilty, and anxious, and who are in need of a moment of calm. We see three watchers who wish to escape their lifelong task to oversee everything. A cook who deviated from her parents’ path and followed her dreams, making mysterious potions. Two poets who have never met, yet they connect over their love letters in lyrics and ballads. And hard-working folks who, above all, love their craft, love to be busy, and would lose their passions if their work were replaced by machine.