Badalu sees the world from different angles

Christina Schott, Contributor, Jakarta

There is always more than one perspective - everywhere. One only has to find it. And this often needs time and patience. Self-educated photographer John Badalu is obviously patient enough to take his time. He always finds a different angle wherever he goes with his almost 20-year-old pocket camera.

"If I come to a place, I usually try to find a corner, where nobody else goes," the Jakarta-based freelancer says.

Menscape is the title of the first photo exhibition by far- traveled Badalu at Pojok I See Gallery on Jl. Diponegoro 65, Central Jakarta.

His atmospheric black-and-white-pictures deal either with men or landscape or put both in a mutual context - like in the photo Relaxing, which features a half-naked body of a young man who seems to fuse with rocks foamed over by the spray of waves.

The arts manager, festival organizer, fashion designer and passionate writer began taking photos soon after he received his first pocket camera from his parents at the age of 16.

"By that time it was my big dream to become a professional photographer," Badalu says. "I always wanted to be an artist, but I never succeeded - so I finally became one of the organizers to get closer."

It was about the same age that he started traveling, which later on became a passion for the 30-year-old from Makassar, South Sulawesi. This was also around the time when black-and- white-films were first being sold in Indonesia. He was curious to try their effect. "I wanted to be different," Badalu says.

In 1983, the former student of economics invested Rp 60,000 in a simple Fuji DL15 camera, which since then has become his faithful companion during his extended travels to Europe and throughout Indonesia. Badalu rather pays the repair costs, which are usually higher than the original price of the camera, than buy a new one.

Badalu's sense of individuality also expresses itself in his photos. Either by taking shots at unconventional angles - for example showing the glass pyramid of the famous Louvre museum in Paris in the background of a street lamp - or by the selection of his focus - mainly objects from daily life, like a telephone or a bicycle, suddenly placed in the center of attention by special lighting.

When focussing on people, the openly gay man prefers male models. "Most photographers are always concentrating on women," he says. "I just like to show that pictures of men can be very esthetic and erotic as well."

All pictures live out of their game with light and shadow. The photographer never uses a flash to avoid any artificial effect. Badalu's photos express the natural dependence on daylight of all life. None of the people in his pictures pose or are aware of being photographed. They are mainly either sleeping or seen from the background, while the sun paints patterns on their bodies.

"I like to act like somebody who is watching people without being noticed," Badalu said, explaining his perspective.

So the photographer is able to freeze some rare moments of stillness, which sometimes express a deep personal freedom.

Badalu wants to conserve his experiences for the eyes of his compatriots, many of whom don't have the chance to see so many other countries.

"I try to catch the landmarks of each place, which are unusual for Indonesians," he says.

In the meantime, Badalu feels himself in between the different cultures of East and West. Living in Indonesia, on the one hand, means always being expected to take part in any kind of social life. Living in Jakarta, on the other hand, means that there are many aspects of Western life available.

"Even if I love to have people around me, being alone sometimes can also be very nice," Badalu says. The contributor for several magazines and newspapers has just started to write a novel about his experience of being single and living in the metropolis.

Being also busy with organizing activities for foreign cultural institutions like the Goethe Institute or the Italian Cultural Institute, the success of his photo exhibition doesn't seem to be very important to Badalu's future planning.

Even though he has already received five offers for bigger exhibitions, Badalu has already chosen his priority: Before all else he wants to be independent in his decisions.

Menscape by John Badalu at the Pojok I See Gallery on Jl. Diponegoro No. 65, Menteng, Central Jakarta will last until July 24.