Finders Keepers Market!

Melbourne may be the artsy city, but Sydney is a close second. Finders Keepers art market shows a truly fine artistic crafts and good people, both designers and enthusiasts. Some photos of people I took on the market.

IFmedia, Indonesia's Finest Media

Well, if you think you know Indonesia's culture, you should have heard about IFmedia, the newest and most sophisticated Indonesian online magazine. It came from a concept of presenting the internet at its best in our beloved Jakarta, and IFmedia is the result. So, buckel up and enjoy the multimedia ride.

Indonesia's Finest Media

The Young, The Old, and The One In Between!

One location, two photos, three generations. These two photos were taken in Asakusa temple, a famous tourist spot, in Tokyo, Japan. They uniquely portray the three generations currently controlling Japan. The second photos shows the intereaction between the young and restless and the older generation of Japanese woman. The way they dress and their body language sum the past and the future of Japan. As if she said I've done my parts, and now it's yours and he said well I know I can build Japan for a better future, but only if I didn't screw up.

The first photo shows the active adult in Japan. It is their duty to help Japan do whatever it needs to keep improving for the future. He said I know I can focus on my job to build Japan as I focus to shoot this thing on my camera. His eyes tell us how it is hard to be the backbone of Japanese culture, economy, and its way of life.

Where's Waldo?

Waldo is wondering around in the crowd of Ueno Park during sakura season, can you spot him? He might be drunk on the corner, or maybe danced under the sakura tree.

Jellyfish!

One of the most beautiful things I have ever seen!!!

Five People You Meet in Japan!

Five people you will meet in Japan. From a businessman who obsesses with Baseball. The man in the first photo was watching a baseball game in a TV in an electronic store during The World Baseball Game. It was Japan V Korea.

The second people you will find quite a lot in Japan are those who do not care with their surroundings. Based on the population, you probably will meet around 100 new different people everyday, but I don't think they interact with each other. They live as individuals, the only thing common between them is that they live in Japan.

The third photo shows a rare occasion, find an obese person on the street. I think Japan is the healthiest place on Earth. The eat fish on a daily basis. Junk foods exist there, but I rarely see queue on one of those places. And their version of fast food is faster than the Western version of it, and it is healthier. Fast food means you eat a bowl of noodle soup or a bowl of rice while you are standing. They usually only serve one kind of food. Fast means fast.

The fourth image shows a young Japanese man. A common view in Japan, but I assure you that you will always put your eyes on them every time you see them, it's either they dress freaking weirdly or they dress simply weird.

The last image shows an old woman prays in a temple. A common view for tourist who put temples on their schedule. But this one looks like an angle comes down to this woman. A bright light makes her looks angelic.

Lights and People!

It was easy to count how many days I spent in Japan, it was 15 days. But, to count how many times I had to struggle with this kind of environment, bright lights and people of Tokyo, I've lost my count since day 2. This is Tokyo as I see it.

more to come..

Khuruksetra: The Cursed Le'ak!

Who would start a performance by banging a bass guitar with a hammer, and finished it with a sonic universe, and still left the audience in awe with a new audio and visual experience? Khuruksetra has successfully done all of the above in their latest performance in the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore.

“It was a fantastic performance. I can feel the battle to find the long lost love and I was amazed by the combination of the audio Khuruksetra produced, the video slideshow they put on screen, and the costume and theatrical performance by one of the members from Khuruksetra. It is simply magical,” Yayan Mulyana, the first secretary of Indonesian Embassy for Singapore, said.

In their third major city performance, after Sydney and Melbourne, Khuruksetra took on love as the theme for the performance. They took the audience to the khuruksetra battlefield to see how the Le’ak (creature from Mahabarata story) tried to find the love it could not get. It screamed, it scared, and it made the audience to stand on their feet.

Khuruksetra first heard in Singapore by one of the committees of the event who passed it on to the Head Committee, Yurika Gani. “I first saw Khuruksetra from their video performance in Melbourne, it was scary enough for me to decide to invite them come to Singapore for this event. But, seeing them live was so much different from what I’ve seen on the video, it was an amazing experience and an amazing performance.”

The Khuruksetra Singapore performance was ended uniquely, the audience left with three minutes of the visual slideshow still on play without knowing that the members of Khuruksetra has left the stage. Mikael Mirdad referred to John Cage, one the most famous sound artists of his era, for the occasion, “We left the audience seeing what’s left on the slideshow, a composition of trees, blood, and also animals. Khuruksetra is no longer part of the performance at that moment, it was the audience who has become part of the performance with their whispers and also their awkward applause. This is the statement that we wanted to delivered; Every sound in this world can be regarded as music, even silence. It was called Sonic Universe.”

The performance marked another milestone in Khuruksetra’s chapter. They have conquered Singapore, just like Sydney and Melboourne, by making the audience shivered and stood on their feet. But, they have never played in Indonesia. A performance that proudly brings Indonesian culture to its best and never played in Indonesia. Would it be caused by the audience who does not fit to Khuruksetra’s performance? But one thing for sure, they should have played in Indonesia a long time ago.




Khuruksetra
Indonesian Embassy for Singapore
Saturday, 28 February 2009

Preview: Khuruksetra Live in Singapore 2009

They were born in Sydney, Australia. They shocked Melbourne crowd on their biggest performance, and they are ready for Singapore.

Singapore should wait and be prepared for what is coming towards you.

Australian Centre for Independent Journalism!

Seven weeks of photojournalism with Moshe Rosenzveig. Too bad they didn't put my middle name.

The Power of Photograph!

Marno and his family live on the side of a train track. On the night of July 16th 1992, his left arm and leg were cut off by a train. Since the accident, all he can do is beg for money at the traffic light in the busy Jakarta. But, it all changed in 1998.

For People in Jakarta and Indonesia in general, 1998 was the year they wanted to forget. But, it's not the case with Marno and his family. 1998 was the year Marno met James Nachtwey, the photojournalist. James Nachtwey spent a month in the life of Marno and his family, documenting the life of a man without his left arm and left leg. The series of this photograph went worldwide and attracting many eyes and heart. And now, 10 years later, he is still living by begging for money, even though he receives money from James Nachtwey every month.

"The money from James is not enough in this condition, not with my six children. James told me not to let my children beg money at the traffic light, that's why even with this condition I beg for my children and my family," Marno said. Marno and family are still living on the side of a train track, only five meters from where the accident happened.

This is what life looks like 10 years later. He used to be the object, but now he is the subject.

Australian Center for Independent Journalists Photo Essay

This is the photo essay I submitted for the ACIJ Photojournalism Course.

Film-Making is a collaborative art.

People are Interesting!

I invest in people, they are interesting!

Australia is Empty!

20 million people in 1 nation, try 14 million in 1 city. Australia is too empty or Jakarta is too crowded?

Tribute to Eugene Smith!

Let the dark stay behind our back, and step into a brighter future!

Portrait! Moslem and the Western World!

An ordinary Moslem in an extra ordinary Western World, a portrait on the relationship between the Indonesian Moslem and Australians after the Bali Bombing in 2002 and the execution of the Bali Bomber in November 2008.

Personal Space!

I'm currently taking a photojournalism short course from Australia Centre of Independent Journalists and this is the first assignment, to take a photo of my personal space.

The Soul of Khuruksetra!

Coming soon! A documentary on the sound and visual journey of Khuruksetra. How a four different individuals can become one as Khuruksetra.

The City of Art, The Art of City, Melbourne!

These are the reasons why Sydneysiders should envy Melbournian. They know how to light up a city.