Ari Bayuaji's series "Weaving the Ocean" transforms the jetsam of plastic ropes disentangled from the roots of mangrove trees along the coast of Indonesia into hauntingly beautiful tapestries. Ari Bayuaji is inspired not only by the rich textile culture of the artist’s homeland (Indonesia), but also by the weaving cultures from many different countries worldwide as a living heritage.

Aesthetically engaging, Bayuaji's tapestries result from a creative salvage and up-cycling process that saw the artist and locally recruited assistants scour the shoreline of Bali to collect and clean plastic ropes that washed up on shore and then unravelled them into fine colourful threads. In collaboration with a traditional Balinese weaving workshop, Bayuaji designs and creates unique textile pieces in an environmentally conscious way that has provided financial security to local crafts persons and economies since the beginning of the global pandemic. Bayuaji's equally stunning sculptural practice also draws upon the ocean's detritus as source material - including ropes, minerals and other elements that wash up on shore.