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Dutch photographer Ted van der Hulst’s homage to an Indonesian dwarf community
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Book cover: Pictured is the cover of 'Aristocrats'. (Courtesy of Ted van der Hulst) (Courtesy of Ted van der Hulst)
A unique exhibition and book titled Aristocrat, featuring outcasts of society, radiates light on the potency of the human spirit.
The 21st-century information age is awash with manipulative imagery. The smartphone technology revolution has granted the masses immediate access to the sphere of photography and our physical and digital worlds have become saturated with visual pollution. More than ever, it is essential to communicate through the power of the lens and positive narrative imagery.
International Dutch photographer and Bali resident Ted van der Hulst presents Aristocrats, which features 28 large-scale color portraits of marginalized Indonesians. It is open from Dec. 28, 2022 to Jan. 11, 2023, at the Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA), Ubud, Bali. The occasion marks the launching of his second book of the same title, a timely and significant investigation into the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity.
Over four years, van der Hulst photographed the lives of a dwarf community living in Denpasar, capturing intimate, vibrant pictures. Employed in Entertainment Midget Boxing, a voyeuristic tourist entertainment show in Kuta, dressed in costumes the dwarfs engage in acrobatics, dance, boxing and comedy routines. Van der Hulst juxtaposes images of daily life with their professional personas. The results are touching, enlightening and beautiful.
The dwarfs have developed masks to shield their sensitivity from ridicule and bullying by others because of their appearance. Van der Hulst befriends them, gaining their trust and entering their world. Finally, they feel secure enough to shed their masks to reveal their rich characters, integrity and vulnerability. A chronicle of opposing worlds and the bittersweet human experience, his visual essay describes moments that fascinate and ignite our imagination. Scenes of the mundane, along with private and collective moments, are windows into the souls of these extraordinary people.
“From a young age, I saw images in my mind’s eye. I continued capturing these images as I went through life,” van der Hulst told The Jakarta Post. Born in 1982 in Utrecht, the Netherlands, from 2009-2012 he studied photography at the vocational photography school in Amsterdam, specializing in portrait and documentary photography. He then relocated to Jakarta and worked for MRA Printed Media, shooting for Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and Esquire magazines. In 2013, van der Hulst committed himself to become a visual storyteller.
