Rugged life of Jakarta on display

JAKARTA (JP): Seven young photographers who trained for one year with photographers from Antara Photo Journalism Gallery will show their black-and-white works on life in the capital during a 27-day exhibition at the gallery beginning on Wednesday.

Titled Kota Kita - Jakarta Keras (Our City - Rugged Jakarta), the Aug. 11 to Sept. 6 exhibition will display 90 works from Alexander Louiciano, Alwis Rutam, Arizona Sudiro, Fajar Sitanggang, Mohammad Iqbal, Roy Rubianto and Widya Sartika Amrin.

The photographs take viewers down the narrow alleys of Manggarai in Central Jakarta, let them breathe in the smell of a morgue, put on display the inner hostility of a STM technical high school student and capture the smoke of a marijuana cigarette wafting in the dim lights of South Jakarta's Blok M.

"They're not only going to give their testimony, but also tell us about the rugged daily life of this megalopolis," exhibition organizers said in a statement on Monday.

According to a tentative schedule, the annual exhibition on life in the city will be opened by Governor Sutiyoso.

The Kota Kita photo exhibition has been held since 1994, each year with a different theme, including Old City, Jakarta Community, Play in Jakarta and Jakarta Interior. (bsr)