Who is the young girl, born and raised in a conservative Betawi family, who talked her way into birth ward in an unfamiliar city on her first trip overseas to record one of the most harrowing moments of human life?

The young Balinese, who instinctively took a parting shot of a forlorn, young Australian prisoner facing a possible death sentence in a strange land? And the brash kid, barely a quarter century old, who convinced an iconic Indonesian diva to drape herself in toilet paper for a portrait?

Well, they are three of 11 young Indonesian photographers, whose works are currently displayed at “Imagemakers of the Future”, an exhibition organized ahead of the BLIPfest (Bali Photography Festival), an international gathering of established and emerging photographers slated to be held on Sept. 2010 in Ubud, Bali.

Noted photographer and founder of BLIPfest, Rio Helmi, led a four member curatorial team to carry out the arduous process of identifying, nominating and selecting the works of young Indonesian photographers to be displayed in the exhibit. The other members are Firman Ichsan, Oscar Motuloh and Darwis Triadi. All of them are influential figures in the country’s photography scene. Another giant figure, Tara Sosrowardoyo, will joint the curatorial team for the BLIPfest’s main events.

“With this event, we aimed to find the best upcoming Indonesian photographers as well as provide them with an opportunity to display their work,” one of the organizers, Rudolf Dethu said, adding BLIPfest’s mission was to promote Indonesian photography on the international scene.

For Rio Helmi, it was clear from the beginning that the exhibit had to present a strong, visible argument for BLIPfest to exist, a raison d’etre.

“It had to prove that the growing creativity and quality of the work produced by the younger generation of Indonesian photographers was worth paying attention to,” he stressed.

He noted that finding quality in terms of technical capability was not a major curatorial headache. In Indonesia, like in many other places, photography in all its varieties has developed in leaps and bounds in the last decade. It’s an astounding phenomenon.

“But finding strong content and real vision is another matter altogether,” he said.

The curators, Helmi recalled, not only had to find younger photographers with talent and vision in photography, but also in journalism, documentary, fine art, travel, fashion, etc.

“We wanted to present a spectrum of subject matters, a range of styles,” he said.

When the curators shared their resources, they were pleasantly surprised at what was being uncovered.

“Learning the visual language of photography, being fluent in it, takes time. Once one has developed a skill, one still has to create something meaningful with it. What is exceptional about these 11 is that they are all working sincerely at experimenting with it, at communicating their vision, passion, and experiences,” he praised.

This selected group of promising young photographers includes  Made Nagi, Eka Nickmatulhuda, Sonia Prabowo, Muradi, Andika Wahyu, Tjok Bagus Kerthyasa, Andi Ari Setiadi, Diana Putri, Eric Chang, Gus De and Nicoline Patricia Malina.

Most of these photographers have participated in solo and joint exhibitions in the past, some have won prestigious awards and a few have had an opportunity to work with or learn from world-renowned photographers. Yet, a chance to display their works in the “Imagemakers of the Future” exhibit left them breathless.

“The curators are respected and senior photographers, so we know they would be very frank and honest in evaluating our work. It was an honor [to be selected] but it also gave me goose bumps when I thought about how my work would fare before their piercing eyes,” Made Nagi said.

His anxiety did not last long. Most of the art connoisseurs, who flocked the exhibit’s opening ceremony, were impressed by the achievements of these young photographers.

 He used as an example the artworks of Eka Nickmatulhuda, a beamingly-fun-religious conservative Betawian girl, who visited Manila in  2006. There, she embarked on a solo adventure, securing a permit to visit a birth center and maternity hospital for the poor on the outskirts of Manila. She used her camera as her diplomatic passport to make sense of the sub-standard social reality.

“Her black and white pictures are evocative and staggering. At first glance, Nickmatulhuda tells a story about medical misfortunes, the hardships of labor and babies yearning for warmth. But once embraced, her pictures depict a spiritual sensation and elation;  and even in the harshest of conditions, heartbreaking screams of mothers in labor and cries of newborn babies will ultimately result in something wonderful,” he stressed.

Another budding photographer explores, in an ever so-slightly-satirical mode, the metaphoric journey of a doll named Mimi on a typical Southeast Asian junket. A Balinese prince leaves his comforts behind to explore the dusty trails of Central Asia as well as the sub-continent, in order to bring back vibrant images.

“All of them have pushed their own youthful boundaries, all eleven are passionately committed to their work, and they are all working photographers. Looking at their work and seeing the quality and vision that is already there, I know that if they continue, they will be the future image makers whose work will be indelibly etched into our communal consciousness,” Rio underlined.

— Photos Courtesy BLIPfest


Imagemakers of the Future

Photography exhibition
Oct. 10 –Nov. 30
Alila Ubud
Desa Melinggih Kelod
Payangan, Gianyar 80572, Bali
+62 361 975 963
www.theblipfest.com

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