As woodcut printmakers, we believe that every carving and print is part of a collective voice—one that records the spirit of mutual aid, learning together, resilience, and the building of hope within communities.
Through the Tolong Menolong Exhibition, we contribute A3-sized, bullet-shaped woodcut printing blocks, each carrying images that foreground themes of solidarity, mutual assistance, and good cooperation—both among people and between humans and nature. The bullet, a symbol commonly associated with violence, is reinterpreted here as a visual medium to convey messages of humanity and togetherness.
For us, woodcut printmaking is not merely an artistic medium, but a movement that transcends geographical and social boundaries, uniting voices from diverse backgrounds and regions into a single, collective work. This process is not about individual outcomes alone, but about the strength of creating together.
Here, the bullet becomes a symbol of collective power, and when present in large numbers, it represents a loud, unified, and steadfast voice of solidarity. Tolong-menolong (mutual aid) is not merely an action, but a shared call to build communities that never run dry in spirit when offering help—whether through labour or ideas.
It carries the philosophy of kinship: if you lack salt, I will offer mine — a principle of mutual complementarity and care.
This is also the core of our collective practice, where we involve friends from outside the core collective to participate in the work, strengthening our belief in art for society.
These woodcut blocks will be reactivated in public spaces, printed onto T-shirts during programmes at Patani Artspace, transforming art from something merely to be seen into something that can be touched, worn, and circulated. Through repeated and random printing in red and black, we mark mutual aid not as a one-way gesture, but as a layered, reciprocal, and ongoing relationship.
This is art that lives with the people—from block to garment, from hand to hand, from one community to another.
