Welcome (Indonesia, Bali)

In this place open to the Indian Ocean, a handcrafted welcome sign displays a message of total inclusivity : all sizes , colors , religions , cultures , beliefs , genders and ages are welcome here. “Welcome” literally means “to welcome,” a simple word that, in this context, becomes an act of intention as much as a symbolic statement .

This painted wooden signage , placed at the entrance to an alternative beach café , reflects a dual dynamic specific to Bali: on the one hand, a real tradition of ritual and community hospitality ; on the other, visual marketing inspired by globalized multicultural and queer-friendly codes.

The aesthetic of the place (handmade signs, colorful cushions, tropical vegetation) is part of what researchers call tropi-globalism : a staging of tolerance against a backdrop of exotic beaches, widely shared on Instagram and TikTok. But Bali is not a static setting: this Hindu island with a Muslim majority welcomes millions of foreign visitors and expatriates each year, who coexist with a Balinese society strongly structured by castes , rites , and growing land issues.

This photograph questions the word “Welcome” as an identity marker , at once sincere , political , and economic , at the heart of a space lived as much as imagined.