Photo exhibition shows grief lingers among tsunami victims
Photo exhibition shows grief lingers among tsunami victims
M. Taufiqurrahman
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
The massive tsunami that hit Aceh and North Sumatra in December
was so cataclysmic that many of the victims of the natural
disaster have been unable to come to terms with the reality of
what happened.
This impression is inevitable for visitors who step inside the
Antara Gallery for photo journalism and look at the first three
pictures on display at an exhibition titled 100 Days After:
Struggle Continues.
In spite of the exhibition's title, which is aimed at
highlighting the reconstruction efforts in tsunami-hit regions,
about half of the photos display the trail of destruction and how
the victims of the tsunami are still shaken by the events of that
day.
Greeting visitors upon entering the gallery is a large photo
taken by the American-born Eric Grigorian, a photographer with
the Polaris photo agency, showing a woman standing amid a sea of
rubble, gazing into the distance under a torn umbrella.
The cloudy sky above the woman adds to the feeling that her
hardship is far from over, while she had little resources to help
her through it all.
A picture by Zarqoni Maksum of the Antara photo news agency
shows the difficulty of people coming to grips with such
unspeakable destruction.
In the picture, a man in traditional Muslim attire is seen
standing on the edge of a platform that was once an upper floor
of a mosque, which has been reduced to little more than a bare
and broken structure.
Another photo by Maksum, however, is a strangely beautiful
depiction of the tsunami's path, suggesting that nature indeed
works in mysterious ways.
This photo, simply titled Temaram (Shimmering), shows a serene
and barren landscape marked only by the still-standing structure
of a mosque and dead trees. The evening sun is about to set,
accenting the emptiness and desolation filling the hearts of
Acehnese.
Staying true to the exhibition's main objective of emphasizing
the reconstruction efforts, there are photos of bruised Acehnese
putting their lives back together and leaving the agony behind.
Pictures by another Polaris photographer, Kemal Jufri, portray
efforts by fishermen along the west coast of Aceh to rebuild
lives that were brought to an abrupt halt by the tsunami.
In a picture by Tempo weekly photographer Rully Kesuma, two
children run through an open field, unaware or unconcerned by the
darkening sky above them.
A work by Antara photographer Maha Eka Swasta shows a small
boy pointing a toy gun at two Singaporean aid workers.
The incident brought the refugee camp to a standstill as both
the refugees and the aid workers shared a joyous laugh.
There is indeed a light at the end of the tunnel.
100 Days After: Struggle Continues runs until May 24 at Galeri
Foto Jurnalistik Antara at Jl. Antara 59, Pasar Baru, Central
Jakarta; tel: 021-3458771
M. Taufiqurrahman
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
The massive tsunami that hit Aceh and North Sumatra in December
was so cataclysmic that many of the victims of the natural
disaster have been unable to come to terms with the reality of
what happened.
This impression is inevitable for visitors who step inside the
Antara Gallery for photo journalism and look at the first three
pictures on display at an exhibition titled 100 Days After:
Struggle Continues.
In spite of the exhibition's title, which is aimed at
highlighting the reconstruction efforts in tsunami-hit regions,
about half of the photos display the trail of destruction and how
the victims of the tsunami are still shaken by the events of that
day.
Greeting visitors upon entering the gallery is a large photo
taken by the American-born Eric Grigorian, a photographer with
the Polaris photo agency, showing a woman standing amid a sea of
rubble, gazing into the distance under a torn umbrella.
The cloudy sky above the woman adds to the feeling that her
hardship is far from over, while she had little resources to help
her through it all.
A picture by Zarqoni Maksum of the Antara photo news agency
shows the difficulty of people coming to grips with such
unspeakable destruction.
In the picture, a man in traditional Muslim attire is seen
standing on the edge of a platform that was once an upper floor
of a mosque, which has been reduced to little more than a bare
and broken structure.
Another photo by Maksum, however, is a strangely beautiful
depiction of the tsunami's path, suggesting that nature indeed
works in mysterious ways.
This photo, simply titled Temaram (Shimmering), shows a serene
and barren landscape marked only by the still-standing structure
of a mosque and dead trees. The evening sun is about to set,
accenting the emptiness and desolation filling the hearts of
Acehnese.
Staying true to the exhibition's main objective of emphasizing
the reconstruction efforts, there are photos of bruised Acehnese
putting their lives back together and leaving the agony behind.
Pictures by another Polaris photographer, Kemal Jufri, portray
efforts by fishermen along the west coast of Aceh to rebuild
lives that were brought to an abrupt halt by the tsunami.
In a picture by Tempo weekly photographer Rully Kesuma, two
children run through an open field, unaware or unconcerned by the
darkening sky above them.
A work by Antara photographer Maha Eka Swasta shows a small
boy pointing a toy gun at two Singaporean aid workers.
The incident brought the refugee camp to a standstill as both
the refugees and the aid workers shared a joyous laugh.
There is indeed a light at the end of the tunnel.
100 Days After: Struggle Continues runs until May 24 at Galeri
Foto Jurnalistik Antara at Jl. Antara 59, Pasar Baru, Central
Jakarta; tel: 021-3458771