This painting is part of an ongoing form and material studies. The series focuses on nutmeg, tracing its material history back to its origin in Banda — an island whose natural resource became the root of many violent conflicts.

The primary inspiration for this work is the massacre led by Jan Pieterszoon Coen’s troops on the island of Lontor during colonial era (1602-1621). This attack was a brutal retaliation following a local uprising against Dutch monopoly efforts. Around 2,500 people were gathered in the fields and slaughtered by Japanese mercenaries under Coen’s command. The remaining population died from starvation, enslavement, or forced deportation. As a result, the Banda Islands lost nearly 90% of their population.

Using a speculative narrative method, I attempt to depict this traumatic event through layered imagery. The composition draws inspiration from Hieronymus Bosch’s The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things, while the use of beeswax evokes the texture of wounded skin. At the center of the painting stands a single surviving tree, referencing another account from this history:

“After taking control of Rhun Island, the Dutch killed and enslaved all adult men, while women and children were exiled. They also cut down every nutmeg tree on the island to render it worthless.”