Herve Dangla holding 2nd photo expo on Jakarta

Herve Dangla holding 2nd photo expo on Jakarta

By Yenni Kwok

JAKARTA (JP): In Herve Dangla's eyes, Jakarta is a belantara,
an "organized" forest where the extremes coexist. However,
despite the existence of the extremes, such as extreme human
characters or unusual styles of architecture, Jakarta is still
far from being a wild jungle. In Dangla's opinion, it still has
some order and organization.

With that philosophy, Dangla has chosen the name Belantara
Jakarta for his photography exhibition on images of Jakarta. The
term was first coined by painter Semsar Siahaan. The exhibition
will run until tomorrow at the gallery in the French Cultural
Center.

For Dangla, this is his second Belantara Jakarta exhibition;
the first was in January 1995. The second exhibition is also
intended to promote his first book, which is also titled
Belantara Jakarta.

This time, one can also see the creativity of the 37-year-old
French photographer beyond his photographic images. The French
Cultural Center has given him a lot of freedom to decorate the
center to achieve the best setting for the exhibition.

Besides those in the main gallery, Dangla's photos are on
display in the cafeteria and in the surrounding hallways. He has
even painted the glass doors of the center's classroom white and
asked the students to write on them. The white-painted doors give
the impression of an unfinished building.

Most of his exhibited photos are framed and hung on the
center's white walls. However, there are also some printed in
giant poster size on exhibit in a dark room, its walls covered by
black cloth.

In this dark room, the giant images of Jakarta are ready to
strike us. One of them is an image of two street children
sleeping, hiding their faces. It is as if they want to completely
forget what they are usually facing in the big, ruthless city.

Slums, poverty, struggling blue-collar workers and homeless
people in Jakarta have been Dangla's most common images of
Jakarta. People have criticized him for presenting only the
"ugly" side of Jakarta.

In reaction to this criticism, Dangla only shrugged his
shoulders and said "I just showed what the average Jakartans are
like. I do not think Jakarta is a glamorous, beautiful and clean
city. I show things objectively. No more, no less."

There is also the reason of accessibility. Dangla finds that
the lower class is everywhere in the streets of Jakarta and they
are easier to approach.

"The lower class is more open," Dangla said. On the other
hand, most of the higher-class people reject his taking pictures
of them. "Maybe they want to hide something," he said.

The openness of the lower class people is obvious; most of
them stare at the camera. They are not afraid or embarrassed,
despite their struggle with life.

One of the most striking images is a picture of a woman living
at a Chinese grave site in Cipinang. Hugging her dog and with her
cooking utensils stacked on the floor, she sits on the grave,
looking directly into the camera. She is not shy, but there is a
sense of helplessness in her eyes.

Dangla has written "Home, Grave. Owning a roof is an important
thing" as the caption for this portrait.

Recently, Dangla returned to the Chinese grave. He searched
for the woman to show her the picture he had taken of her.
However, she was already gone, and nobody knew of her
whereabouts.

Not all the portraits of the lower class are grim. Some of
them reflect hopes. A portrait taken at a 36 hectare site for
dumping garbage shows some children in their school uniforms
standing in the foreground looking skyward.

Meanwhile, in the distance, a young man is standing on a high
garbage heap, smiling. The young man used to spend his childhood
sorting out garbage there, Dangla said.

The images of Jakarta as the center of Indonesian government,
culture and history are reflected in photos of public figures.
Among them are Jakarta Governor Surjadi Soedirdja, the wife of
Sutan Sjahrir and poet Rendra.

There are also some "peaceful" pictures of a demonstration in
support of the now banned Tempo magazine: a shot of a tired
demonstrator sleeping on the street; a picture of some riot
police. There is no violence or intensity evident in the photos.

While many people think Jakarta is a tough city where only the
fittest can survive, Dangla has a different opinion. Jakarta is
not a place where people are struggling, elbowing each other. In
fact, his portraits show people struggling through hardships
peacefully. It is a place where extremes exist, but still
maintain order. That is Jakarta's forest in Dangla's eyes.