Where We Once Gathered: alvinT x Somewhere Concepts at Jia CURATED 2026

Article

Sep 2

*Where We Once Gathered by alvinT x Somewhere Concepts at Jia CURATED 2026, image by Alvin Tjitrowirjo*

From 13–17 August 2026, alvinT collaborated with Somewhere Concepts, a Bali-based interior design and styling studio, to present Where We Once Gathered at the fifth edition of Jia CURATED, held within the natural landscape of Pengembak Beach, Sanur.

Responding to this year’s theme, Nature Weave, a theme exploring the interconnected relationship between people and the natural world, the installation became an opportunity for alvinT to return to a question that has long been part of the practice:

What wisdom can older ways of living still offer us today?

As alvinT marks its twentieth year, Where We Once Gathered reflects on a time when people lived more intimately with their surroundings, when trees provided shelter, the earth offered a place to rest, and knowledge was shaped by seasons, materials, rituals, and the landscapes people inhabited.

Inspired by the Tree of Life woven rattan mat from Kalimantan, the installation draws on Indigenous understandings of interconnectedness, in which people, place, and culture are inseparable from the living systems around them.

Rather than recreating nature within the exhibition, the design begins by recognizing what is already there. Just as a constellation of trees and stars guided our ancestors when creating shelter, the site's existing trees become both structure and storyteller, guiding the placement of paper panels, furniture, light, objects, and illustrations, allowing the installation to grow with the landscape rather than stand apart from it.

*Where We Once Gathered by alvinT x Somewhere Concepts at Jia CURATED 2026, image by Bran Arifin*

Paper panels made from Banana Paper and Tyvek stretch between the existing trees, creating a light architectural boundary that defines the space without enclosing it completely. Some of the panels carry illustrations by A. Jasmine, depicting the relationship between people, forests, and the materials that have historically supported everyday life. The illustrations move between two worlds: reflecting earlier ways of gathering natural materials and living within the forest, and imagining how those relationships can continue within contemporary life.

*Illustration by A. Jasmine, printed on DuPont™ Tyvek® by Paperina, image by Christopher Octaviano*

In this way, the installation becomes a contemporary interpretation of living: a place where nature, objects, craft, and people can exist in relation to one another. The trees, the light, the movement of people, the materials, and the stories they carry all become part of the design process. This approach reflects alvinT's philosophy of People, Place, Culture — understanding that meaningful design emerges through relationships, and that objects and spaces become more meaningful when they are connected to the people and places they belong to.

Where We Once Gathered

At Jia CURATED 2026

13 - 17 August 2026

Pengembak Beach, Sanur

Supported by:

Ascendo Lighting (Professional Lighting Solutions)

Glow Control (Lighting System & Automation)

Tarum (House of Natural Dye)

Banana Paper (Handmade Paper)

Paperina (Paper Specialist)

Cultivar (Florist & Landscape)

Backus Ceramics (Ceramic Objects)