Whaling, and Humans Reincarnated as Whales — Ocean Cage Pays Homage to Tradition Through a Contemporary Vocabulary (Part1)

Text / Stella Tsai

The whale appears, the ancestral spirits return, and the call of “Baleo! Baleo!” echoes along the shore. Chinese visual artist Tianzhuo Chen and Indonesian choreographer Siko Setyanto bring the whaling traditions and ancient beliefs of Lamalera village in Indonesia to the stage with Ocean Cage. Through dance, electronic soundscapes, installations, and video, they weave a song of ecological symbiosis—one that is both cruel and gentle. In this interview, we return to the starting point of their journey and step inside the creators’ minds to understand how they embody sacred traditional beliefs at the boundary of reality and fiction, extending and reshaping cultural narratives through a contemporary vocabulary.

Q: How did you first encounter the whaling tradition of Lamalera village in Indonesia, and what led you to adapt it into Ocean Cage? When conceiving the narrative arc, at what point did you decide to shift away from a documentary perspective toward a fictional interpretation of ecology and faith?

Tianzhuo: In 2022, I couldn’t return to China due to the pandemic.I decided to spend some time in Bali and try making something in Indonesia with Siko, who lives in Jakarta. A friend told me about Lamalera on Lembata Island, a village that still practices traditional whaling. Even Siko had never been there, so we decided to visit together.

Siko: Whaling is a vital tradition in Lamalera and a way for the villagers to defend their culture. They hunt whales, but they also believe that when humans die, they are reincarnated as whales to nourish the next generation, forming an organic cycle of life. This belief deeply fascinated me. Although I am Indonesian, Lamalera was extremely remote to me. There was a news story at the time about a group of fishermen who got lost while whaling and drifted at sea for four or five days. Through it all, they firmly believed: “We are simply on our cultural journey. When I die, I will become a whale, and it will be the people’s turn to catch me.”

Ocean Cage brought me back to my childhood—growing up around traditional markets and street performers. Even though I never participated in their performances back then, it was as if those experiences were absorbed into my body, suddenly finding me decades later. Through the three roles of the whale, the fisherman, and the ancestor, I found a trance-like state of communion between humans and gods. I suddenly discovered my connection to my past and to the beliefs of Lamalera. The performance grew out of me and my history.

Tianzhuo: When we visited Lamalera, neither of us knew what we would end up making. It slowly took shape as a theater piece  over the following two years. But from the start, we were very clear that it wouldn’t be a documentary or a literal representation. Although deeply inspired by the island’s faith and culture—and even using archival colonial footage at the beginning—the world of Ocean Cage is fictional. Siko’s roles, the rituals created, and the visual representation of the traditional deity Lera Wulan on stage were not developed through a documentary lens. You can view Ocean Cage as a work of fiction.

Q: When interpreting the roles of the fisherman, the whale, and the ancestor, how did Siko digest the physical memories of these different roles within his own body and design the corresponding movements?

Siko: Many people ask me if Ocean Cage presents real, authentic traditional rituals. Not at all—it is my “homage” to real rituals. The music isn’t traditional Gamelan either; it’s an electronic ambient soundscape that creates a ritual alongside my dance. That’s also how I developed the three roles: not by watching or choreographing, but by improvising—putting what I felt into the core of the characters and the work. This is my way as a performer to communicate with the music, the space, and the audience.

Initially, when rehearsing in Berlin, I felt uncertain. It wasn't until after several conversations with Tianzhuo that it suddenly clicked: “Isn’t this my dream? I can become whatever I want to be in the performance!” After touring for a few years, I can now say with confidence that these three roles are indeed a performance I created.

Tianzhuo: At first, you might feel that Siko was “acting” or trying hard to “get into character.” But after several tours, I feel those roles now live inside his body. He not only deeply understands the work and knows how to present it, but he has also brought it to a level that I think is even better.

Siko: It wasn’t an easy process; I often doubted myself, but Tianzhuo always gave me confidence and support. I absolutely love performing Ocean Cage. Even though the atmosphere varies completely across different cultures, cities, and countries, this performance gave me my first profound sense of my Malay identity. Even when audiences don't understand Indonesian, they respect and participate in the moment. It allows my traditional culture and my way of respecting tradition to create a new tradition through this performance.

Whaling, and Humans Reincarnated as Whales — Ocean Cage Pays Homage to Tradition Through a Contemporary Vocabulary (Part2)