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.