Photographs of a Jakarta seething in modernity

Photographs of a Jakarta seething in modernity

By Yogita Tahil Ramani

JAKARTA (JP): Relentless delving into the realm of modernistic
culture has replaced sentimental cliches of humanity and poverty
in this developing metropolis with bump-and-grind insights. A
young, almost refreshingly brash artistic lot is working on
giving a poignantly incisive look into contemporary Jakarta,
countering the perfunctory neglect of human and social concerns.

The thousands of grave thoughts that Jakarta embodies are
shown in the photo exhibition in the Antara Gallery of
journalistic photos on Jl. Antara 59, Pasar Baru, Central
Jakarta, through Aug. 24.

On the theme Kota Kita, Anak Bermain dan Anak Jalanan -- our
city, children playing and street children -- it is open to the
public from 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 pm daily, except Monday.

Soulful music accompanies the visually eclectic ambience of
frozen glimpses of Jakarta. Freelance photographer Mila Fadliana,
who is currently finishing an advanced diploma course on
photography at the Jakarta Art Institute, cleverly portrays
accidental contrasts and likeness, along with differing
definitions of graffiti in society's eye.

A placard states spray painting of expressions of truth is a
game of graffiti power counterbalancing additions to the
industrial skyline, even as society calls it vandalism. Another
photograph has a fluttering Indonesian flag, the symbol of
national pride and patriotism, against a backdrop of buildings
bedecked with foreign names.

Scorned and accused of everything possibly linked to
irresponsible behavior, youngsters are more likely to rebel than
bear the condemning brunt of society. Again, the idealistic
teenager is not simply about rebellion and angry blood alone.

Freelance reporter Salma, currently doing her journalism major
at the Institute of Social and Political Sciences, portrays
broken spirits and the different faces of a teenager. Poles stuck
to the wall with similar photographs of written poetry attached
to the ends symbolize musical notes, just as swirling smoke, a
singer, underwear and frenzied audiences portrays a free
lifestyle in another. The scribbling in one emotes with
disappointment in the wake of the break-up of famed local shock-
rock band Slank.

Salma is currently doing her journalism major at the Institute
of Social and Political Sciences.

The clear immediacy in Awaluddin R.'s thoughtful work brought
the timeless catch phrase "what might have been" to mind.

The montage encapsulating pictures of skyscrapers, smiling
faces, kites, children playing soccer on buses, open fields,
flyovers, breathtakingly narrow alleys, corridors and a bicycle
is an epitaph for the loss of children's playgrounds to
development.

The smiling, witty twenty-something artist, a student at
Trisakti University's School of Plastic Arts and Design, said the
thought of creating with adult visualization, easily grasped by a
child's mind as well, was inspirational.

Pressing down the handle to a bicycle wheel will revive a
myriad visual recollections of running children and dining
families spinning before your eyes. The creation of freelance
photographer Eny Erawati is no less a stunner, with a string of
larger photographs hanging from the circle of postcard-sized
ones. Eny is a student at the Jakarta Art Institute of film and
television photography faculty.

The earthy creation of artist Achmad Fauzie is definitely an
eye-catcher. A burial ground of mud, broken pieces of brick and a
yellow flower is surrounded by photographs of an age-old
children's game, complete with chalk drawings in the center. The
ground symbolizes mourning for the death of the game known as Hom
Pim Pa, or hopscotch.

The upper floor hosts the Anak Jalanan exhibition. Curator
Yudhi Soerjoatmodjo described the collaboration between Mitra
Masyarakat Kota (MMK) and Private Agencies Collaborating Together
(PACT), both non-governmental organizations, to exhibit the
works.

The photographs bear a surreal mood, as cherubic young faces,
whimsical smiles and pouts are marred by the grim surrounding
realities.

Heartrending captions such as "Even if we dress awfully,
please don't scold or insult us" or "Good minds: one must get up
in the morning" cover a wall, almost edging on cynicism.

Frank Page, Sarah Whitmore, Martin Hardiono and Jeffrey Anwar
of MMK capture the soul of a surviving breed in photo, as street
children gawk and smile, with some looking resolutely determined
to brave the uncertainties of the big world.

Notable are Page's Senyum Fatamorgana (Illusionary Smiles),
Belajar Sebagai Impian Saja? (Studying As a Dream?), Penguasa
Pasar Malam Hari (Night Rulers of the Market); Whitmore's Pejuang
Kota and Pejuang Petani (City Survivors and Farming Survivors);
Anwar's Penyiar Berita (News Broadcaster) and Hardiono's Belajar
Di Lingkungan Pasar (Studying in a Market Environment).

The photographs may well be accurate in depicting the lot of
many city children. Research by YKAI, the Indonesian Children's
Welfare Foundation, in 1994 showed there were between 30,000 to
50,000 street children in Jakarta. Fifteen percent of them were
homeless, 28 percent living with parents and 27 percent living in
joint families. Seventy percent were elementary school drop-outs.

The streets are teeming with thousands of shoe-shiners,
newspaper boys and street singers eking out a living,
perseverance etched on their little faces.

The exhibition reminds us that as administrative good deeds
take time to be executed, particularly in a city driven by
innumerable commitments, a little compassion still makes a
difference.