The New Way of Greetings ( Tegur Sapa Baru )

Lala Bohang's series of experimental instructional videos, The New Ways of Greetings, (2020) imagines how human interaction in the post-pandemic world may be transformed. In this set of 3 videos, she explores new ways of performing traditional greetings such as the salaman (handshake), cipika cipiki (kissing on left and right cheeks), and salim (kissing the hand or touching an elder’s hand to the forehead). With the emphasis given to social distancing during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, the comfort levels of individuals during social gatherings were put to the test. Although the animated flashes of germs and playful gestures are a humorous take on the Covid-19 pandemic, Bohang’s works question how modes of social interaction might evolve in response to different conditions, and how that might affect the way humans behave and interact with each other over time.