As inspiration for my artwork I selected the piece ‘If these Crackers were real Pistols, What would you do?’ created by FX Harsono in 1977, around the time of the political struggles and elections in Indonesia. During the 1970’s there were many forms of protests against the government in Jakarta but this artwork is, in my opinion, one of the most powerful forms of protest. The artwork depicts a pile of pink crackers in the shape of pistols with a table and a book asking the question that is the artwork’s title. My artwork represents this mainly from the point of view of the people living in Indonesia at the time, who were in many ways suppressed and very much looked over by the rest of the world. The many different overlapping squares in the bottom of my painting represent the houses of the people all squashed in and of different sizes showing the different classes of the people living in Jakarta in the 1970’s. The empty plate symbolises the need for food and how impoverished communities were under this regime. The blue stripes represent the sea around the islands of Indonesia and the blue dots on top of them represent the money that was taken by the countrie’s government. I tried to replicate the colours of a wonderful Indonesian sunset, in the yellows and oranges, symbolizing hope and the future, and the sea surrounding the islands in the the blues. I chose the number 515 because there is a total of 515 prawn cracker producers all over Indonesia, helping to produce and ship the much desired food all over the world. The fountain pen I have painted represents the words of the many people that wrote in the book placed beside the artwork in every gallery it has visited. The large sun I have painted represents the hope of the people and the much brighter future that is quickly becoming reality. Indonesia is one of my personal favourite travel spots, what with its stunning jungles and wildlife, excellent beaches and surfing and it’s delicious food. In my last trip to Indonesia, I really discovered what a wonderful country it is and I hope my reinvention of F X Harsono’s incredible protest meets all expectations as Indonesia continues to thrive into a beautiful paradise!