Photo exhibit looks at life from a window seat

Those who have ever been lulled by the rocking, rhythmic motion of a train as it rolled over tracks stretching toward the horizon may equally be lured by Rel Waktu (Railway of Time), a photo exhibit by Edy Purnomo that opened on Friday.

A highly talented photojournalist with JiwaFoto, an independent photo agency based in Jakarta, Edy has shot for Agence France Presse and Getty Images, and his work has appeared in Time Asia, the Asian Wall Street Journal The Australian daily, and the Netherlands' De Volkskrant magazine.

A homecoming of sorts, Rel Waktu is Edy's first solo exhibition, and is being held from Nov. 19 through Dec. 10 at the Antara photo gallery, where he trained initially in photojournalism.

As he writes in the catalog, the personal journey that culminated in Rel Waktu began when Edy was about 6 years old, when his grandmother took him to and from school -- a trip of about two kilometers -- in his hometown of Ponorogo, Central Java. Taking pleasure in the various sights along the way, Edy expanded upon the route once he learned to ride a bicycle. He often found himself returning home from school well into the afternoon as he explored detours that circled the town and exposed him to all facets of life.

Edy's first train ride came during a school holiday, when his grandmother took him on a trip from Madiun to Jakarta. Gazing out from the window seat, the passing panorama appeared to him a film of extraordinary beauty that was revealed to him as the train rolled on.

Now, as then, the window seat is his preferred vantage point in any vehicle, and the train, his favorite mode of transportation.

During a 1999 Jakarta-Madiun railway journey, Edy, sitting in a window seat, was inspired to capture "a portrait of a train ride". The idea was finally realized in 2004 on a Jakarta-Bogor electric train.

"I wanted to capture the trip through a second window -- my camera", along with "the drama at every station", a story of the constant dynamics of life that appeared beyond his window.

At once a record of the timelessness of rail travel and of childhood memories, Rel Waktu is a photographic journey that captures transition and change, yet also continuity.

-- The Jakarta Post

Rel Waktu (Railway of Time) will run from Nov. 19 through Dec. 10 at Antara photo gallery, Jl. Pasar Baru No. 25, Central Jakarta, open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., except on Mondays. A discussion with the photographer will be held on Nov. 25 at 3 p.m.