HATI | RUMAH TUA
A healing journey through image, memory, and heritage
HATI | RUMAH TUA - A photobook, close to my heart and my Moluccan roots.
HATI | RUMAH TUA (meaning Heart | Elderly Home) is a deeply personal project that intertwines photography, oral history, and cultural heritage.
Through portraits and stories of third- and fourth-generation Moluccans in the Netherlands, I explore what it means to belong, to remember, and to heal.
This journey began after I was diagnosed with lymphoma (cancer) in 2021, a turning point that brought me closer to my Moluccan roots and my family’s history. Following that wake-up call, I felt a strong calling to document the people, places, and memories that shaped our community.
In this project, the rumah tua, the ancestral home, becomes a symbol of connection. It represents the spaces, tangible and intangible, where generations meet: our shared histories, traditions, and resilience.
With every portrait, I seek to honor the stories that should never be forgotten.
HATI | RUMAH TUA is both a love letter to my heritage and a personal mission: a way of following my heart while preserving the legacy of my ancestors.
The project will be published as a photobook and documentary in 2026, marking 75 years since the first Moluccan families arrived in The Netherlands.