Her academic background is visible in her artworks, but most prominently in her installation pieces, where consideration of objects in relation to space becomes a signifying element. In producing artwork, Indah Arsyad always conducts research from various other disciplines so that the works have depth in terms of study, exploration and final results. In addition, concern for social issues, identity, humanity and environmental pollution are the strengths behind her works. In her subsequent works, Indah added video animation that metamorphoses into science and climate change, which relate to human life and the development of the world in the future.
This object and video installation work is a visual, material and digital representation of the ecological dilemma of Indonesian waters, especially in Jakarta Bay. Jakarta Bay reflects the condition of waters polluted by industrial and domestic waste. The rivers that flow carry residues of pollution within them, threatening the marine ecosystem and local fishermen. The combination of physical objects in the form of mines and jerrycans brought directly from mussel farming areas in the waters of Jakarta Bay is a symbol of the practice of green mussel farming by local fishermen. Mines and jerrycans are metaphors of pollution traps that limit the living space of marine biota and the livelihoods of coastal communities.
This installation work is connected to pollution data visualized by a digital video from animation, statistics and figures of environmental pollution levels, whilst also being connected to the kinetic beating of gamelan (bonang) which produces an echoing sound, symbolizing the sound of an alarm warning of the dangers that threaten sea water pollution which results in global climate change and the destruction of the earth. This work explores the tension between nature, society and the impact of industrialization.