– The mother figure (Ayang) is portrayed as a non‑human agency whose breath controls natural cycles. This aligns with Indigenous cosmologies that grant agency to landforms, a viewpoint reinforced by the performance’s use of live‑recorded forest acoustics .

“Ayang Kenyot Nenen” (literally “The Mother‑to‑Be Holds Her Breath”) was the flagship multidisciplinary performance presented at , the 2018 International Conference on Indonesian Culture, Arts, and Media (held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 12‑15 October 2018). Conceived, written, and directed by emerging Javanese artist Raden Ayang Kenyot Nenen (b. 1992, Surakarta), the work blends traditional Wayang kulit puppetry, contemporary dance, live‑instrumental gamelan, spoken‑word poetry, and immersive audiovisual projection.

INDO18 was the 18th edition of the biennial . Its theme, “Intersections: Tradition, Technology, and Transformation” , called for works that interrogate how Indonesian cultural heritage negotiates modernity. Over 1 200 scholars, artists, and policy makers from 38 countries attended.

The piece could be structured into three main sections, reflecting a journey from call to movement to celebration or resolution.