Circles in the sand

Like insects emerging from their lairs, the lithe figures in black and white crawled along the rocks and sand to greet the waves at Parangtritis Beach in Yogyakarta.

They were dancers in the art performance Tato Totem, the work of Bernadetta Kinting Sri Hanjati.

Presented as her final requirement as a postgraduate student at the Indonesia Arts Institute in the Central Java town of Surakarta, the performance was staged in two parts -- in the afternoon alongside the beach with its reefs and wet sandy beach, and at night on a dry sandy hill.

The performance was not only about the stunning visual imagery of tattoos, body painting, bridal makeup, ballet, local dances and percussion music, but also served to highlight the beauty and greatness of nature as its arena. -- Text and photos by Tarko Sudiarno