Lomographers suggest shooting from the hip -- really

Prodita Sabarini ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Bandung   |  Sun, 04/20/2008 10:57 AM  |  Arts & Design

A picture of a green robot on a yellow background, titled MicMac Robot, is displayed in Galerikita, in an old Dutch building in Bandung.

It was made entirely out of lomographic photographers by Enem for the lomography exhibition titled "Halomo", which is being held by the Bandung Lomographic Society and Padjadjaran University's student union.

Curator Anton Susanto from Galerikita said the 17 lomographers featured in "Halomo" were presenting photography in a new way.

"They offer the viewer a new way of appreciating photography, by presenting multiple images arranged into forms or patterns," he said.

Enem's robot picture, titled MicMac Robot, consists of photos of someone holding a Lomo camera in a glowing yellow room. These pictures are juxtaposed against a series of pictures of two people in an elevator illuminated by greenish neon lights.

The robot's eyes and mouth are made of a series of snapshots of someone wearing a black T-shirt.

Lomography, an expanding hobby worldwide, is an alternative way of photography, which produces, depending on the type of camera, pictures with fish-eye views, saturated colors, high-contrast colors, blurred and vignette images.

Lomography was popularized by a group of young Viennese in 1991, who shot their way through their summer holidays using a Russian Lomo Kompakt Automat (Lomo LC-A).

The group founded the Lomographic Society and is now the sole distributor for Lomo cameras produced by the Russian company Lomo PLC.

Lomo cameras are compact with plastic casings and sharp glass lenses, and have an extreme sensitivity to light. Some cameras are produced without viewfinders; making each photo a lomographer takes a surprise.

The works in "Halomo" may also take viewers by surprise.

Icha Dijey's work titled Mutilasi (mutilation) is comprised of pictures of body parts that make up a single human form.

Some of the lomographers intentionally used expired film.

"In digital photography, the editor manipulates the result using computer software; in lomography the artist manipulates it before taking the shot," Anton said.

He said the purpose of lomography was simply to have fun. "It does not really matter how the artist takes the shot."

Lomographers can shoot from any angle, include from the hip or above the head. There is only one rule in lomography: ignore the rules.

"Halomo"
Bandung Lomographic Society
April 6-27
Galerikita
Jl. RE Martadinata No. 209, Bandung"

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.