The politics of (in)visibility

Orientalism and Chinese representation in Indonesian museums

Dados Bibliográficos

ID5905268
AutoresDesi Dwi Prianti (0000-0001-7101-1864, University of Brawijaya, autor correspondente), Sri Handayani (0000-0002-1282-3245, University of Brawijaya), I Wayan Suyadnya (0000-0002-2529-1620, University of Brawijaya)
Ano2025
Volume40
Fascículo6
Páginas1-20
Data de publicação2025-08-05
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoMuseum Management and Curatorship (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0964-7775 • E-ISSN: 1872-9185
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09647775.2025.2539072
OpenAlexW4412976565
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas1
Referências citadas17

This study utilises a visual methodology and Foucauldian discourse analysis, framed by postcolonial theory, to investigate how Indonesian museums construct the narratives of national identity, with particular attention to the underrepresentation of the Chinese ethnic minority. By curating a diverse corpus of museums across Java and Bali, the research reveals the nuanced ways in which museums legitimise the idea of “Indonesianness”, an identity constructed in the shadow of orientalism and colonial residues. The findings demonstrate that visual arrangements – such as object placement, image scale and spatial prominence – function as mechanisms of gaze that reinforce an orientalist worldview, wherein Western civilisation is positioned as a symbol of progress and modernity, while local knowledge systems are rendered traditional, thus subordinated. The study also exposes how Chinese Indonesians are either marginalised or essentialised – depicted as socioeconomically privileged outsiders or omitted entirely from national narratives. This (in)visibility reinforces the racial binaries of pribumi and non-pribumi, sustaining colonial legacy through postcolonial museum practices. The findings advance debates in museum studies, showing how visual politics in Indonesian museums sustains epistemic and symbolic marginalisation. The paper calls for decolonial curatorial strategies that critically engage with diversity and promote a more inclusive historical narrative reflective of Indonesia's pluralistic society

Art · Geography · Indonesian · Linguistics · Literature · Orientalism · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Visibility · Asian Culture and Media Studies · Asian Studies and History · History · Law · Philosophy · Socioeconomic Development in Asia