Foto: Eric Letourneau

Nyepi ist he name of a unique ritual celebrated on the island Bali: it is the day of silence. For the duration of 24 hours all public life stands still, being outside is forbidden, no cars, public transport or airplanes operate on this special day. The execution of silence is supervised by officers.

The Austrian artist Gertrude Moser-Wagner has spent the day of silence on Bali. For her new Kunstradio piece she uses interviews with locals, a fisherman, a tourist guide, a waiter and a police officer. The title of the piece, “Jam Karet”, can be translated as “elastic time” – because time, as Moser-Wagner recalls, is nothing, zero during Nyepi.