Postcards from history's edge
By Yogita Tahil Ramani
JAKARTA (JP): A photograph is a trace, something directly stenciled off the real, like a footprint or a death mask.
Looming out of an exhibition of old-fashioned photographed delights in a dimmed gallery, the thought of philosopher Susan Sontag reverberates with visual memories.
Twilight Cafe on Jl. Kemang Raya 24A, South Jakarta, is holding a 100-postcard exhibition of images of a former Indonesia and Singapore until Jan. 29.
There are many striking images of the extraordinary -- but it is the quaint "moving" quality of these photographs that is more attractive.
A seminude sarong weaver, the Ciliwung river dotted with boats and the banks with shacks are but two examples of black-and-white postcards displayed in a manner that makes them look more like photographs. Portraits of the solitary Victorian mansion of a Singapore club and Bandung's Jl. Braga before it was transformed into a fully fledged commercial area are also in the collection.
The photographs of Indonesia were taken during Dutch rule and the story behind them is that of a beauty lost. The magnificence of old buildings, the quiet charm of desolate tree-lined streets, buggy rides, market scenes and ordinary people of various cultures.
Fascinating historical commentary of a bygone era is the overall feeling: Chinatown in Bandung, the Waterloo Monument that stood in Central Jakarta where Lapangan Banteng is now, Jakarta's old Pasar Baru area, and of course, Bandung's Institute of Technology, the city's oldest university.
A collector of old photographs, organizer Josh Kasman has kept up close relations with many Dutch friends. This is his fourth exhibition here.
"Their (The Dutch) families went back to the Netherlands. I had to write to them to get them to send the postcards back here," Josh said.
"Back then, there was no color photography. For color photographs, they used water colors."
The photographers were not afraid to display their subjects in color and this bravery has certainly paid off. The Chinese bacon seller and his assistant, and the bright redbrick roofs of houses on Jl. Braga in Bandung are beautiful examples, appearing more real than colored photographs would have been.
Streets
Street scenes, however, seem to be the most photographed, most moving images captured on film. A view of Surabaya's Bibis district and the picture of a man resting on a roadside fence in the midst of splendid greenery on Bandung's Jl. Merdeka are truly captivating. The latter was one of a number of fine portraits showing the sheer grandeur of a green Indonesia.
Another beautiful portrait is of a worker watering a garden with huge, long- and straight-spouted pots attached to a wooden- stick balanced on his shoulders.
With its old pronunciations of names -- Bandoeng, Soerabaja, Soekaboemie -- several portraits of market scenes, such as in Jakarta's old Kota (downtown) area, and Harmonie clubs (a haven for Dutch gatherings in Jakarta) seem beautifully composed.
Photos are for sale and with the exception of one of Pekalongan, Central Java, -- priced at Rp 135,000 (US$12.25) -- all are Rp 75,000. Captions are thankfully short and, with the pictures depicting quieter times, complement the photographs quite well.