Barbara Pleaser is a multidisciplinary artist of Javanese, Sundanese, and Minangkabau descent, based in Bali, Indonesia. Their artistic journey began in 2014 when they co-founded the anarchoqueer punk unit BANANACH, where they served as singer and songwriter. Initially, Barbara explored noise art under the name haxanized (RIP) in their hometown of Bandung, Indonesia, with their early sound-art showcased at Bandung New Emergence Volume 6 in 2016.
Barbara's upbringing in Bandung, influenced by local performing arts communities and activism, inspired them to reinterpret club resistance as a practice of care rather than merely valuing technique and musical taste. Living as a transmasculine-nonbinary individual in Indonesia's political ecosystem led Barbara to migrate to Bali in 2021 to explore their transness more freely. Through the Indonesian Nonbinary Forum, they practice community care across Southeast Asia.
Barbara is a key member of Bali's inclusive family, Razedbi, and has collaborated with international collectives such as Decolonoize Berlin, Normiecorp, and Kaput System Inc. Their performances have graced events like Ryde Or Die (Bali), Headstream (Bali), Arcan (Saigon), V2X Radio (Saigon), Manila Community Radio, HKCR, norrm radio (Bandung), and PARA Studio (Bandung).
As a choreographer and performance artist, Barbara's work has been featured on platforms like Nowness Asia and Subtropical Asia. They have performed at numerous prestigious events, including AsiaTOPA (Naarm/Melbourne), ArtJog (Yogyakarta), Art Jakarta, and Galeri Indonesia Kaya (Jakarta).
