CCF's activities traced in photographic essay

CCF's activities traced in photographic essay

By Yenni Kwok

JAKARTA (JP): The existence of Centre Culturel Francais, or
the French Cultural Center, means a guaranteed art event in
Jakarta every month. Hardly a month goes by without an
interesting activity at the center.

A play in sign language, a dance performance, a jazz-gamelan
concert and a socially provocative photo exhibition focusing on
ugly Jakarta are just a few of the many acts the CCF has brought
to town.

For Dodo Karundeng, a photographer and faithful CCF visitor,
these events are more than personal enjoyment. The assorted
cultural events have provided him with many photo opportunities
and, ultimately, helped him put together his own show.

The result is Interaksi, his first solo photographic
exhibition. The CCF gallery will exhibit 26 of Dodo's black-and-
white photographs through July 7. They not only highlight the
emotions around the city as the CCF brought their native and
Indonesian artists to the local cultural scene, but also deliver
subtle social criticism.

The documented events include Les Flambards street theater,
jazz gamelan concerts, Les Arts Sauts acrobatic troupe and
Rendez-Vous interactive street art. And, of course, Dodo ventured
to several photo exhibitions, such as Isabelle Waternaux's
Equivalences, Herve Dangla's Belantara Jakarta and Yudi
Suryaatmojo's Paris-Metro.

Indeed, it is likely that Dodo's pictures will invoke memories
for some Jakartans, especially those who follow CCF's cultural
events. As a photo editor for Antara news agency and former
photojournalist for the defunct Tempo newsweekly, he is not a
novice in documenting events.

However, the 45-year-old sees his photographs as more than
just a documentation device. He chose the title Interaksi
(Interaction) to underscore how inevitable an interaction is in a
cultural happening.

This is not simply interaction between performers and their
audience. As a photographer who often takes pictures from the
sidelines, Dodo considers himself part of the interaction.

"When I shoot a picture, there is also interaction between me
and the object," he explains, "When I took these pictures, I was
in the middle of the audience and the performers. I became a part
of the interaction."

Interactions

Although Dodo's pictures reflect dynamic interactions, his
exhibition lacks the art's vibrant atmosphere. His exhibited
pieces are about the same size. Moreover, they are hung and
evenly spaced on the CCF's white-painted gallery wall. All of
these give a sense of monotony.

Nonetheless, the monotony is gone once we observe what is
inside the frames. Capturing jubilant faces, grim emotions and
even empty expressions in different events, Interaksi manages to
reflect the vibrancy of the art world.

Despite the variety of the art events, Dodo clearly separates
the exhibition into two parts.

The front part of the gallery is generally devoted to
expressions of joy: a close-up shot of a laughing clown from Les
Flambards street theater in front of the Arts Centre gives a
festive feeling. A visitor would likely be captivated by his
photograph of a Les Art Sauts male acrobat hanging on to a swing
with his hands and legs swaying towards the camera. His legs are
spread as if to frame another male acrobat on the ground and the
Monas Monument in the background.

The back room, on the other hand, has a rather serious, if not
depressing tone. Here Dodo shows the shots from Dangla's
Belantara Jakarta photo exhibition, which features many harsh and
unflattering images of Jakarta, as well as Waternaux's
Equivalences, the main object of which are unsmiling faces.

An "accident" occurred when he shot Waternaux's picture of an
old man. The gallery's spotlights fell on the man's eyes, but he
experimented by taking its picture anyway. It turns out that the
annoying spotlights created a stunning but puzzling image. Is the
man enduring God's punishment like Paul the Apostle? Or is he
accepting a heavenly revelation instead?

Dodo won't say what he thinks. In fact, he invites the
audience to have their own interpretation as he also expects
active interaction from the public. "People always ask me what it
means. Sometimes I want to hear their own personal opinion," he
said.

Despite the seemingly light theme of Interaksi, Dodo insists
his pictures do not stray far from the current social reality.
The wild stunts and the festivities are the reflection of this
month's activities -- the election campaign.

While most artists avoid performing or exhibiting their works
during the campaigning period, Dodo believes this is a perfect
time for his exhibition. He reasons that his exhibition's festive
images coincide with the current campaign mood.

He points out the picture of an eccentric sporting a pair of
goggles as if they are his glasses while visiting the Paris-Metro
exhibition in 1994. He uses this photo to show a connection with
the wildness of the campaign time. "People campaign by
masquerading in strange faces," he says. "And, that man seems to
reflect how we sometimes see things through foggy spectacles."