SHOWCASE

/ ARTIST / 2025

BKKIF Artist  
ARTIST: Mbetand
COUNTRY: Indonesia
EMAIL: meilianabetand@gmail.com
CONTACT: instagram.com/mbetand
Hi, I’m Mei. A visual artist based in Jakarta.
I work mostly with ink, using hatching techniques to bring my ideas to life. There’s something honest about black and white. No distractions, just form, texture, and feeling. I enjoy the challenge of translating a colorful world into monochrome.

My favorite subjects are quiet landscapes, often featuring a small, curious cat making its way through the vastness of the universe. It’s a reflection of my own journey, navigating life and creativity one step at a time.

Sadly, Inevitably, Fortunately.

Ink on Paper (24x19cm) | 2025

Life has a way of moving us through things we never asked for. Losses that couldn’t be stopped, goodbyes that were bound to happen, but never feel easy. And yet, the story continues. Not because it’s painless, but because some endings are part of the path.

Sadly, because there was something deeply valued. Inevitably, because change was always coming. Fortunately, because even the hardest moments can bring us closer to where we’re meant to be—though it might take time to understand why.

MOVE

Ink on Paper (30x42cm) | 2025

Even when the current pulls you under.
Even when fear tightens its grip.
This is about moving anyway—
not because it's easy,
but because staying still would mean giving up on who you’re becoming.

Satori

Ink on Paper (30x42cm) | 2024

In the realm of Japanese wisdom, individuals grow through two distinct paths: the profound insights of satori or the transformative trials of kenshō. This piece is part of a series that celebrates this duality, reflecting the luminous journey of satori—the enlightening awakening that fosters clarity and understanding.

Kensho

Ink on Paper (30x42cm) | 2024

In Japanese wisdom, growth comes in two forms: through deep insight (satori) or the trials of pain (kenshō). This artwork belongs to a series inspired by this profound philosophy, embodying the transformative journey of kenshō—growth through hardship and reflection.

Hopeless Optimist

Ink on Paper (42x59cm) | 2023

A hopeless optimist, I believe that even in our darkest moments, we endure the pain with the hope that if things can become this dark, they can also shine incredibly bright.

The Way I am Loved

Ink on Paper (60x100cm) | 2024

Not all love is loud, and not all love is romantic. Some love moves quietly—through soft gestures, quiet presence, and small acts that often go unnoticed by the world. A kind of tenderness that doesn’t need to be explained to be felt.

This piece is a quiet reflection of that love—the kind I’ve received from women around me. Gentle, enduring, deeply feminine. Like shade on a warm day, it doesn’t ask to be seen, but it stays, and it holds.

It’s a soft pause between longing and letting go. A place where the past can rest without hurting, and the future can arrive without fear.

Shade

Ink on Paper (14x40cm) | 2025

There are moments when everything feels still—not because nothing is happening, but because something within has settled. To be gently held by the present, knowing you’re okay right here, right now.

A soft pause between longing and letting go. A space where the past can rest without pain, and the future can arrive without fear.

Rest Day

Ink on Paper (25x25cm) | 2025

No need to be anywhere, no need to be anything. Just a bit of rest, out in the middle of nowhere.

Maybe it’s a little lonely. But not the heavy kind. Just the kind that reminds you—you’re with yourself now. And that can be enough.

Dinner Daydream

Digital Artwork (21x30cm) | 2024

Sometimes I look at my cats and wonder what goes on in their tiny heads. Do they dream in snacks? Do they imagine flying fish the way we imagine flying cars?

This piece is just that—a quiet, silly daydream from a small, furry body. A little moment of whimsy, drifting somewhere between hunger and imagination.

To the Next Chapter

Ink on Paper (10x14,8cm) | 2024

The only piece with words inside—because some moments need to be spoken.

To the Next Chapter is a quiet kind of courage. That feeling when you’re standing at the edge of everything familiar, and still—you choose to move forward. The sky is clear. The path is open. It’s time.