MELISSA SHEKINAH
SACRED GROUND

"Sacred Ground" is an ongoing major series inspired by the artist’s ancestral roots in the ancient land of Borneo, Sarawak. The collection is organized into five elemental energy frameworks: Grounding/Earth, Growth/Wind, Void/Ether, Movement/Water, and Divine/Fire. Anchored in over 25 core artworks, the series explores historical, spiritual, and ecological landscapes through physical earth mediums—capturing the raw, vibrational frequencies of the living natural world.
Sacred Ground 1.0 Exhibition
Location : Sibu Heritage Center, Sarawak.
Date : 8/5-10/5
Supported by : Malaysia Truly Asia 2026, Sarawak Tourism Board
This exhibition displayed 3 finishing pieces of Sacred Ground series
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Spores Dance
100cm x 120cm
Gesso, marble dust, soil, acrylic
Belonging to the Growth phase, the wind element "Spores Dance" translates the subterranean, generative vitality of Sarawak’s rainforest floor into a tactile, relief-like composition. Built with layered soil pigments and marble dust, the painting traces the delicate dispersal of spores, ferns, and cryptogamic life—capturing an unseen moment where organic micro-structures awaken in dynamic harmony.

Earth Remembers Water
150cm x 180cm
Soil, marble dust, plaster of Paris, acrylics
Belonging to the Void / Movement continuum, "Earth Remembers Water" investigates the geological memory of subterranean spaces. Inspired by cave formations, stalactites, and ancient water channels, the monumental composition constructs a relief-like focal vortex surrounded by dripping mineral strata. Through a dense synthesis of plaster of Paris, marble dust, and soil, the piece visualizes the eternal dialogue between solid rock and fluid motion—capturing millions of years of hydrologic movement frozen in stone.

Voice of Mangrove
100cm x 120cm
Mangrove Tannin, soil, gesso
Anchored in the Grounding phase, "Voice of Mangrove" extracts the organic essence of Sarawak’s coastal ecosystem through direct material engagement. Utilizing legally reclaimed mangrove tannin paired with raw soil pigments, the artwork honors the mangrove tree as an ecological guardian. Layered textures mirror the resilient root systems anchoring the intertidal zone, giving tactile form to an ancient narrative of survival, defense, and environmental memory.

Painting the " Earth Remembers Water" in the studio

Stories, practices and philosophy behind the work.

Lignite from Artist Hometown- Sibu

Painting the " Earth Remembers Water" in the studio
Studio Practices

"Find Self-reflection in Nature." - Melissa Shekinah Wong








