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Poems, Photos & ‘Kebaya’: Darwis Triadi celebrates illustrious career

Luna Maya by Darwis Triadi (Courtesy of Merajut Nusantara Foundation)Darwis Triadi is considered by many to be the first name in photography in Indonesia

Josa Lukman (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Thu, February 27, 2020

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Poems, Photos & ‘Kebaya’: Darwis Triadi celebrates illustrious career

Luna Maya by Darwis Triadi (Courtesy of Merajut Nusantara Foundation)

Darwis Triadi is considered by many to be the first name in photography in Indonesia.

To celebrate 40 years of his career in photography, Darwis is collaborating with renowned poet Sapardi Djoko Damono and kebaya designer Vera Anggraini to hold an exhibition, organized by the Merajut Nusantara Foundation, at the National Museum, Central Jakarta.

At its heart, the exhibition, titled “Perempuan yang Tak Bisa Dieja” (Women Who Can’t be Spelled), which runs until March 20, displays photographs that showcase Darwis’ return to his roots as a fashion photographer.

The subjects in the pictures are influential Indonesian women, from celebrities to entrepreneurs, clothed in kebaya designed by Vera. The photographs are then accompanied by poetry from Sapardi.

Various events are also being organized alongside the exhibition, ranging from photography discussions and workshops to a music tribute to the late musician Djaduk Ferianto.

Detailed: The exhibition runs until March 20 at the National Museum in Central Jakarta. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
Detailed: The exhibition runs until March 20 at the National Museum in Central Jakarta. (JP/Seto Wardhana)

A photography contest will also be held, with the winner being announced on the last day of the exhibition on March 20, which also marks Sapardi’s 80th birthday.

Visitors who would like to view the photographs and poetry after the exhibition is over can do so as they are compiled in a book of the same name that can be purchased at the museum.

Darwis said the original idea was not to celebrate his career in photography, but rather only to hold the exhibition and launch the book.

“It was just toward the end that my friends counted the years from the beginning of my career in 1980, so it was decided to celebrate that 40 years while I was at it. For me, whether it’s 40 or 50 years is the same, but the coincidence is quite interesting,” he told The Jakarta Post.

Darwis said the exhibition’s poetic title came last, with him photographing the kebaya first since he wanted to create a more artistic book, not just catalog-style pictures, preferring to capture the flow.

Tribute: Poetry by renowned poet Sapardi Djoko Damono accompanies photographs displayed at the exhibition.
Tribute: Poetry by renowned poet Sapardi Djoko Damono accompanies photographs displayed at the exhibition.

“Later, after the photos had been taken and set out, the idea to juxtapose them with Pak Sapardi’s poetry came to mind, and that’s what ended up happening. The pictures and the text synchronize and match.”

Darwis said the three subjects featured in the exhibition and book — his photographs, Vera’s kebaya and Sapardi’s poems — were connected in the way that they had the same “perception” of women clad in Vera’s designs.

“It’s clearly Vera’s work because she as a designer has to continually think about how women would look wearing her design. My work is merely to capture the visuals. On the other hand, Pak Sapardi with his writings clearly understand what women are like,” he said.

Vera said the idea for the collaboration actually came from her husband, who suggested during the shoot that they should create a second book to follow up on her 2019 book Kebaya Merajut Daur Hidup (‘Kebaya’ Knits Life), also in collaboration with Darwis.

“The original idea was just to create a black-and-white [book], but then we felt that [the photographs] would be too ordinary if there was no poetry alongside them. So we asked Pak Sapardi to create poems for each kebaya. He saw the pictures, and then became inspired to create all-new poems for the book,” she said.

Nod to women: Visitors look at photos on display at "Perempuan yang Tak Bisa Dieja" (Women Who Can’t be Spelled). The exhibition is a collaboration involving photographer Darwis Triadi, poet Sapardi Djoko Damono and designer Vera Anggraini.
Nod to women: Visitors look at photos on display at "Perempuan yang Tak Bisa Dieja" (Women Who Can’t be Spelled). The exhibition is a collaboration involving photographer Darwis Triadi, poet Sapardi Djoko Damono and designer Vera Anggraini.

From that point, the ball rolled further, as Vera said the exclusively black-and-white concept was felt to be rather limiting as the photo shoot locations were rather colorful. Because of this, several pictures in the book and the exhibition are in color, though the black-and-white photos are the majority.

“The colors showcased the details in the kebaya really well. The lighting and the artistic sense was great, but the colors made the details pop.”

As for the kebaya, they are not one-off creations made especially for the shoot, but rather existing designs.

Vera said that kebaya, when shot in interesting places, look more prominent compared with being presented on a stage.

“What I can see from this collaboration is simple — in that it is our appreciation of women who are, sometimes, not shown in our daily lives,” Darwis said. (ste)

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