Photo expo -- a must-see for collectors, hobbyists

Photo expo -- a must-see for collectors, hobbyists

By K. Basrie

JAKARTA (JP): The one-month-old Cahya photo gallery at its new
site in Kemang, South Jakarta, is currently packed with fallen
trees, blossoming sakura (cherry flowers), tranquil jungles,
bushes, windows, buildings, local artists and smiling children.

But there is no noise in the 200-square-meter room, except the
soothing tunes of a classical orchestra coming from the gallery's
stereo system.

The objects are some of the scenes pictured in 101 photographs
on display from May 5 to May 31 in a joint exhibition of 14
photographers, including five expatriates, being held at the
gallery.

Titled Private Expression 2000, the 27-day exhibition is the
second event at the gallery, which has been at the site since
April 12, when it moved from its former location in Menteng Plaza
in Central Jakarta.

The Indonesian photographers in the expo are James Yip Hong
Seng, J. Januar, Kumara Prasetya, Marsio Juwono, Roy Genggam,
Suherry Arno, Syaiful Boen, Windiarto, and Yusuf Budi. Most of
them are well-known in the Indonesian photography world.

The foreigners are German national Karin Sukarya, South Korean
Kim Yoon Ho, Dutch national Paul Beiboer, Tshuji Tsuji of Japan
and Vivek S. Bammi from India.

The "colorful" backgrounds of the participants is reflected in
the works exhibited at the show. Each of the photographers
express in their work their own style, tastes and moods.

One of the works by Kumara, a photography teacher, portrays
the fuzzy configuration of poorly constructed wooden houses along
with a dark tree, green bushes, a bamboo fence, a red perahu
(boat) and blue sky in the background.

Ratih Widya Hadiastuti, the manager of the gallery, quoted
Kumara as saying the picture was a reflection of houses located
along a riverbank in Semarang, Central Java.

The "fuzzy" effect, strict composition and the careful choice
of objects reminds visitors about the basic theories taught in a
photography class.

The question is why is the untitled photo displayed in
inverse, as if it was not of a reflection?

While photographer Roy Genggam displays black-and-white prints
of local female models in elegant poses, Tshuji Tsuji shows his
talent in snapping the first blooms of sakura in his hometown of
Kyoto, Japan.

The most gorgeous of his pictures is the one titled Sakura-
Sakura, which depicts a large branch crossing from the lower left
to upper right of the well-composed picture, with bunches of
pink cherry flowers on it.

Unfortunately, the flowers dominate all of his photos on
display in the exhibition, giving visitors not a single
opportunity to see his photographs of different objects.

Karin, the only woman in the exhibition, presents her talent
in the so-called up-to-date skill: digitalization. Glimpsing at
her works, viewers might only see outrageous colors, the result
of a personal computer.

But there is no doubt that Karin, a professional graphic
designer, has her own style which is clearly different from that
of her husband, photographer Deniek G. Sukarya, who is also
president director of the gallery.

The natural color of a fallen tree, the beach, the water and
the sky in Karin's works have been refurbished into an extreme,
but artistic, touch and tone, without washing over the importance
of composition, lighting and balance.

Windiarto Tjandra exhibits a series of his shots of different
objects, mostly people, in Vietnam, which he took while working
at a mining company in the country. Among his stunning works in
the exhibition are the photos of a Cathedral church in Hanoi and
a Vietnamese man with his bicycle.

The view of the church, shot at an angle in the frame,
provides an unusual perspective without disturbing the eye.

The picture of the back of a Vietnamese man sitting on a bench
with his bike close to him would not be eye-catching without the
tiny tree branches that frame the upper part of the portrait.

The works of South Korean Kim Yoon Ho, who is also the head of
a toy manufacturer here, deserve to praise, particularly Peace,
which he snapped in China.

It is a shot of two birds -- both looking to the left --
standing on wooden poles located in the middle of the frame. The
empty sky of China in the background is beautifully fitted in the
lower part of the photo, with bird-shaped lampposts.

In the first week of the exhibition, three of Kim's works have
been sold, the highest number among the participants.

But the most sizzling photos on display might be the brilliant
works of Syaiful Boen, who learned photography at the University
of Alaska.

At a glance, his photos look like the experimental works of an
energetic and creative newcomer.

Most of the "photos" on display are produced with mixed
materials: a torn portrait (as the main object), color threads
and scratches of green and orange markers.

While other photographers in the exhibition priced their works
between Rp 1 million and Rp 3 million each, Syaiful daringly set
the price of his works from Rp 5 million to Rp 12 million.

So far, the most expensive portrait ever sold in the country
was photographer Eky Tandyo's black-and-white The Seven Steps to
Heaven, bought last year by a foreign businesswoman for Rp 5
million.

The exhibition at Wisma Surya Kemang on Jl. Kemang Raya 33 is
a must-see event for photo collectors and hobbyists, with the
works on display coming from different minds, talents and tastes.

Unfortunately, visitors have to repeatedly ask gallery staff
for information on many of the pieces because the photographers
did not provide notes about them and, more importantly, the
gallery did not produce a catalog for the event.