Postcards from history's edge

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.