• Acrylics on canvas
• Measurements: 140 x 100 cm

The story behind this painting:

Her parents left for the Netherlands as residents of Indonesia a long time ago with their children on the boat. With the thought that a better life awaited in the Netherlands, they left everything behind in Indonesia. In the beginning it was not easy to get used to the life in the Netherlands because of the cultural differences, but eventually they were able to settle in a cozy house and even more children were born. After living in the Netherlands for years, they made a trip to Indonesia, the country they had been missing all this time. They came home with new memories and a cutting of the Melati Kosta, a typical Indonesian jasmine plant. Over the years, the cutting grew into a plant with the so-called ‘yesterday-today-tomorrow’ flowers: first the flowers turn purple (yesterday), then they become lighter in color (today) and eventually they turn white ( tomorrow) before letting go and falling off.

The plant has been in all kinds of places in the family home, from the bedroom to even the basement, and has never stopped growing and flowering. After the death of the parents, she took care of the plant together with her husband. And now, almost 40 years later, the Melati Kosta is still blooming and spreading its wonderful floral scent in their home. The plant has since become a symbol of her Indonesian roots and one of the few things they still have from her parents. There are also many memories attached to this, such as the contact with her mother and the pleasant weekends where the family, now extended with (grand) children, came to feast on all the Indonesian dishes.

The Melati Kosta has now been immortalized on the canvas and hangs in a nice spot above the sofa in the living room of the clients. This way they have a piece of Indonesia in the Netherlands every day.