Mella Jaarsma telah dikenal karena instalasi kostumnya yang kompleks dan fokusnya pada bentuk keragaman budaya dan ras yang tertanam dalam pakaian, tubuh, dan makanan. Ia lahir di Belanda pada tahun 1960 dan belajar seni rupa di Minerva Academy di Groningen (1978-1984), setelah itu ia meninggalkan Belanda untuk belajar di Institut Seni Jakarta (1984) dan di Institut Seni Indonesia di Yogyakarta (1985-1986). Dia telah tinggal dan bekerja di Indonesia sejak saat itu. Pada tahun 1988, ia mendirikan Rumah Seni Cemeti, yang sekarang disebut Cemeti – Institut Seni & Masyarakat bersama Nindityo Adipurnomo, salah satu ruang pertama untuk seni kontemporer di Indonesia, yang hingga hari ini tetap menjadi platform penting bagi seniman muda dan pekerja seni di negara dan wilayah.

Karya-karya Mella Jaarsma telah banyak ditampilkan dalam pameran dan acara seni rupa di dalam dan luar negeri, antara lain: ‘Dunia Dalam Berita’, Museum Macan, Jakarta (2019); Setouchi Triennale, Jepang (2019), Biennale Thailand (2018); Sydney Biennale ke-20 (2016); ‘Mata Keliling’, Arter, Istanbul (2014); ‘Siasat – Jakarta Biennale’, Museum Keramik dan Seni Rupa, Jakarta (2013); ‘Suspended Histories’, Museum Van Loon, Amsterdam (2013); ‘Singapore Biennale’, Museum Seni Singapura (2011); ‘GSK Contemporary – Aware: Art Fashion Identity’, Royal Academy of Arts, London (2010); ‘RE-Addressing Identities’, Museum Katonah, New York (2009); ‘Accidentally Fashion’, Museum Seni Kontemporer, Taipei (2007); Yokohama Triennial (2005), dan banyak lainnya. Karya-karyanya adalah bagian dari koleksi museum dan galeri, antara lain Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, National Gallery of Australia dan Singapore Art Museum. Website pribadinya bisa diakses di https://mellajaarsma.com/.

Mella Jaarsma has become known for her complex costume installations and her focus on forms of cultural and racial diversity embedded within clothing, the body and food. She was born in the Netherlands in 1960 and studied visual art at Minerva Academy in Groningen (1978-1984), after which she left the Netherlands to study at the Art Institute of Jakarta (1984) and at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts in Yogyakarta (1985-1986). She has lived and worked in Indonesia ever since. In 1988, she co-founded Cemeti Art House (with Nindityo Adipurnomo), the first space for contemporary art in Indonesia, which to this day remains an important platform for young artists and art workers in the country and region.

Mella Jaarsma’s works have been presented widely in exhibitions and art events in Indonesia and abroad, including: the 20th Sydney Biennale (2016); ‘The Roving Eye’, Arter, Istanbul(2014); ‘Siasat – Jakarta Biennale’, Museum of Ceramics and Fine Arts, Jakarta (2013); ‘Suspended Histories’, Museum Van Loon, Amsterdam (2013); ‘Singapore Biennale’, Singapore Art Museum (2011); ‘GSK Contemporary – Aware: Art Fashion Identity’, the Royal Academy of Arts, London(2010); ‘RE-Addressing Identities’, Katonah Museum, New York (2009); ‘Accidentally Fashion’, Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei (2007); Yokohama Triennial (2005), and many others. Her work is part of the collection of the Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane. The artist’s personal website can be accessed at https://mellajaarsma.com/.