Nazif Lopulissa

Nazif Lopulissa is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice is deeply rooted in experiences of in-betweenness, migration, and cultural hybridity. Working across sculpture, painting, textiles, and installation, he explores what it means to exist between places, histories, and identities. This “in-between” state is not treated as a lack, but as a generative space from which new forms, meanings, and narratives can emerge. Drawing on childhood memories, ancestral stories, and diasporic heritage, Lopulissa weaves personal and collective histories into an organic formal language. His work engages critically with themes such as decolonisation, multiculturalism, and cultural legacy, while maintaining a strong sensibility toward lived experience. Images: Portrait of Nazif Lopulissa by Corentin Gros Invited But Never Welcome, process, studio detail Invited But Never Welcome, process, studio detail Stolen Days, Stolen Hours (series), 2024, collectively woven, mirror foil, inkjet on canvas, aluminium frame Stolen Days, Stolen Hours (series), 2024, collectively woven, mirror foil, inkjet on canvas, aluminium frame Ikat, Collective Weaving, 2025, inkjet print on canvas, woven with laser-cut polyester cloth credit: Anne Lakeman Ikat, Collective Weaving, 2025, inkjet print on canvas, woven with laser-cut polyester cloth credit: Anne Lakeman Ikat, Collective Weaving, 2024, inkjet print on canvas, woven with laser-cut polyester cloth Archiving as Resistance, Maluku vrij, in process Archiving as Resistance,Maluku vrij, in process Archiving as Resistance,Maluku vrij, in process Invited but Never Welcome, process, studio detail Strange Soil, 2025, Rijks Open, credit: Anne Lakeman Strange Soil, 2025, process in Saparua, Maluku Islands, credit: Laura Aanen Being Diplomatic, to Save Your Own Ass, 2026, in process Being Diplomatic, to Save Your Own Ass, 2026, in process #NazifLopulissa #Rijksakademie #ArtistinResidence #Amsterdam

Strange Soil, first self published book, available 13 December at VIVA VIVA Art Book Fair @rijksakademie 
 For this second edition, the building hosts booths from 70+ alumni, residents, and special guests, plus talks, performances, and workshops. Full program online! 13 December, 11:00–20:00
Rijksakademie Sarphatistraat 470 1018 GW Amsterdam

This work was part of a series of seven paintings by Semiel Sahusilawane, each representing a lineage of families from the village of Tuhaha. The paintings were displayed outdoors, exposed to sun, rain, and sea salt. For years they lived in the public space, carrying the stories of the community. Before I learned about them, six of the seven paintings were destroyed due to severe damage and replaced with copies printed on plastic sheets. Only one original painting survived. This is almost everything known about the series. Semiel Sahusilawane passed away on 4 September 2001. The surviving painting was also nearly discarded, until they asked me if I could take care of it, allowing me to study it, clean it, remove the fungi, and ensure its story could be carried forward and brought back to where it belongs. When was it made? Which pigments were used? What story does it hold? Who was the artist behind it? These questions became the starting point for deeper research into the work, the village, and the legacy of Semiel Sahusilawane. As this project unfolds, I am seeking a conservator/art restorer who can contribute to the preservation and uncovering of the artwork’s history, so it can be brought back to where it belongs

Stolen Days, Stolen Hours, Collective Weaving Each single painting made by many hands. Through shared creation, new stories take shape. What museums usually keep untouchable becomes something made together. This series unites three scenes: The hijack at De Punt The beach of Saparua The ancestral jungle Silver foil catches light, shifting with its surroundings. Whoever stands before it becomes part of the work, part of its memory and reflection. The hijack stands as a direct reminder of broken promises by the Dutch government, acts of longing from denied land, rights, and recognition for the Moluccan community. On Saparua, the sea always returns what enters it. Truth behaves the same way. No matter how deeply a government buries it always finds its way back to shore. This work binds memory, protest, and place. What was once out of reach becomes a shared act of making, opening space for new voices and untold truths. On view for the first time at the Opening Garage, Rotterdam. 28 November 19:00 @garagerotterdam

What should be decolonised, and how can this be done? These questions guide the work at Erasmus Huis with @chitras , an institution shaped by Indonesia’s layered colonial past.By revisiting archives, spatial histories, and collective memory, the project translates colonial narratives into new works that speak to their impact today. Project by @stateoffashionnl Documentation by @lulu.aan Erasmus Huis, Jakarta 2 november - 28 December @erasmushuis_jakarta

Ten days working as a guest, collaborating with local craftsmen. Welcomed warmly, they shared their knowledge with me. We explored natural pigments, ikat and batik traditions deeply tied to a colonial past that must be remembered and acknowledged. What does it mean to claim a heritage, place, or time and what are the consequences today? The process will be presented in Jakarta on November 1st, a presentation of the collaboration with @chitras supported by the workplace and knowledge shared by @craftdenim.id @raden.asfa and the great team. This project is organised by @stateoffashionnl Documentary by @lulu.aan

Nazif Lopulissa is an Amsterdam-based artist whose abstract, multimedia practice simultaneously dissects, repairs, and reimagines the layered realities of migration. He appears in the inaugural issue of Order Territory magazine, wearing pieces from our Spring/Summer 2025 collection. 📸 @keltvan #CarharttWIP

Opening this personal space to the public has been a lot, in the best way. Taking on the responsibility to show up and tell a story for the unknown feels urgent. Urgent in a way that, hopefully, resonates with you as a moment of remembering. My heart is full. Thank you all for visiting the Open Studio and for your support of the publication so far! — Trying to Resolve, Not to Be Violent (2025) Inkjet on canvas, polyester threads, 180 × 266. Being There, Feeling Here, Strange Soil (2025) Bleach on colored linen, 200 × 280 cm. 📷 @annelakeman

Strange Soil
The publication is now available. 303 pages, 3 essays, 3 trips to the Moluccan islands.
Not belonging here or there. 
How do you transform intimacy into something shared?
Making becomes remembering. Remembering becomes resistance. Endless thanks to everyone who was part of this process, new friends, old friends. 
♥ Editor: Lienneke Hulshof
Graphic design: Bas Koopmans
Essays by: Elaine L.M. Tam, Amanda Pinatih, Lienneke Hulshof
Interview with: Amanda Pinatih Printed: NPN Copyediting: Jane Bemont Photography by:
Anne Lakeman
Rokus Wilmink
Laura Aanen Now available at the Rijksakademie bookshop. Two festive keynote readings:
- Wednesday, 19:00 – Amanda Pinatih
- Friday, 15:00 – Elaine L.M. Tam @lienekehulshof @basterandthefunkybunch @amandapinatih @deep_frill @annelakeman @rokuswilmink @lulu.aan @npnprinting @rijksakademie

Running through the months, this moment once felt far away. The first Open Studio at the Rijksakademie. 21 May - 25 May
 For the launch of the publication, we warmly invite you to two keynotes:
• Amanda Pinatih, Wednesday, 19:00, Studio 39
• Elaine M.L. Tam, Friday, 15:00, Studio 39 Hopefully, we’ll meet here. 
In between words, threads, and what is still becoming. Some notes from the studio floor: 1. Carrying the weight of the world on my back. 2. Turtles swim back to their birthplace, without borders in mind. 3. Strings unravel in layers, like peeling an onion. 4. Sandy soil becomes wet. Wet soil becomes a home. 5. Finished, but not yet ready for the public. 6. Not pink, but full-spectrum colours replaced the sun. An artificial, forced way of living. 7. Never felt quite ready to finish the publication. 8. Remembering as resistance. @rijksakademie @amandapinatih @deep_frill

Finally, I can share part of the book we’ve been working on this past year. It held me back from oversharing while also being shaped by overthinking. Making a book means closing a chapter, even one that never quite feels finished. The publication ‘Strange Soil’ is created together with editor Lieneke Hulshof and designer Bas Koopmans. In this book you can find essays by Amanda Pinatih, Elaine L.M. Tam, and Lieneke Hulshof. ‘Strange Soil’ launches on the 21st of May during Rijksakademie Open, accompanied by two keynotes. More details next week. @deep_frill @amandapinatih @lienekehulshof @basterandthefunkybunch @rijksakademie 📹 @thomasdeboer.work

Open call, For a second time, I would like to invite you to be a part of the ikat-weaving process, this time at Rijksakademie. Ikat means ‘to tie’ or ‘to knot’, hence why I would like to create a collective work stronger together. I hope that everybody that feels connected can join this process. On Friday, February 28, Saturday, March 1, and Sunday, March 2, you can come by in the morning and/or the afternoon. We’ll have a communal lunch moment to finish the mornings, share some food, and charge our minds and bodies. As a token of appreciation for your time and effort there will be a small special numbered work for everyone involved in the process. No textile experience is required. If you want to participate send me a direct message, hope to see u soon.