The first project that developed into "studies for distance" a 7-year correspondence, creation and performance process between Maxine Heppner and Indonesian visual artist Hanafi and his studio of collaborators.

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This first interaction was in 1996 at the TIM Galleries of Jakarta. It was a spontaneous encounter. Maxine was artist-in-residence at the TIM Graha Bakti Budaya Theatre. She wandered into the gallery one day and left the yet-to-meet artist a note saying that his exhibit felt like an aesthetic home. He found her at the theatre and soon after Maxine added the live human element to Hanafi’s installation of huge paintings, stones, grasses, water and colour. Their collaborations continue to this day.