Julia Nelisse

Julia Nelisse (unknown - 1995) lived with her husband and young daughter Merapi in a leper colony in Pelantungan (Java). While trying to survive as best they could, they experienced the violence of the struggle for independence at first hand.

Julia Nelisse

Julia Nelisse gave birth to a daughter on 6 September 1947 at a leper colony in Pelantungan (Java). She named her child Merapi, after the volcano on the island of Java.

Shrouds

As revolutionary violence spread to the area, bodies began to appear in the nearby river and were washed up at the leper colony. Nelisse and her fellow villagers wrapped each body in a shroud.

Baby clothes

Textiles were scarce, and so to dress her new born daughter, Julia decided to make baby clothes from the linen covers of the books in the colony’s library.

Careful choice

She chose the covers with care. The vest, pillow and nappy bear the book titles: Tarzan the Lion Man, The Voice of Conscience and Only for Sinners.

Merapi Obermayer

Merapi Obermayer is the daughter of Julia Nelisse. In her video portrait, she talks about her mother, childhood and the influence of the revolution.

View her video portrait