Artist : Lou Leunissen
Genre : Photographs
Period : October 16 till January 6
Everyday, 8.00AM till 10.00PM
Location :Pepito Cafe
Jl. Kediri, Tuban
Tel: 759112
In 1906, and then again in 1908, the Balinese finally succumbed
to the Dutch military advances in two spectacular ‘Puputans’,
or ritual suicides, which saw the Kings of Badung and Klungkung,
plus their families and thousands of followers, including
women and children, seek a noble death in battle. These horrific
events humiliated the Dutch Administration, and once law and
order was re-established the Dutch set about restoring their
image in a skeptical Europe. A tourist bureau was launched
in Batavia, and this office systematically employed and encouraged
resident photographers to create a more appealing visual image
of Bali and the Balinese, which could be used to attract travelers
to the island. One of the first photographers to depict an
idyllic Bali was Gregor Krause. His 1920 book, ‘Bali’,
created a sensation with its images of bare-breasted women,
burning cremation towers, frenzied trance dancers, decadent
courtiers in dazzling brocades, grotesquely masked performers
and the enchanting Legong dancers. These themes were also
to be carried through the 1930’s, in-particular by Walter
Spies, who added his own artistic touch with the use of dramatic
lighting and special effects, to firmly establish Bali as
a mysterious holiday destination. The intention of such photography
was political, not exploratory, and its goal was to change
the attitude of viewers, or European visitors. A Myth of Bali
as a romantic island paradise was established. This Myth,
and its associated Visual Icons, still acts as the core ingredients
of modern-day Balinese tourist images.
Lou Leunissen is a Dutch photographer who specializes in Portrait
and Body photography. He is not resident in Bali, but, for
the last five years he has been regularly visiting the island,
for he is fascinated by Contemporary Balinese Culture. As
a photographer he finds his inspiration in the timeless faces
of the Balinese. In his exhibition, ‘Bali Faces’,
Leunissen calls on the conventions of past and present commercial
Balinese photographic imagery to create a dream-world of fantasies,
which he then endeavors to contrast with modern-day Balinese
reality. Leunissen suggests an alternative future visual image
for Bali and the young, contemporary Balinese that are starting
to question their traditional cultural values and how they
have been depicted.
The exhibition opens with romantic, highly-stylized images
of young men. Photographed mostly in profile, these youth
are posed with head and chin slightly raised, as they gaze
out of the frame into some indefinable spot. Created in a
sepia tonal range, the images evoke a retrograde 1930’s
feel that is reminiscent of the studio portraits originally
created to entice Europeans to Bali. Leunissen’s youth
indicate the physical beauty of the Balinese, and can be seen
as metaphors for the ‘Noble Savage’. The innocent
man, who is free of the corruptions of Western Society, and
lives in harmony with Nature.
Shot predominantly at the Bali Arts Festival 2005, Leunissen’s
many images of boys and girls in Traditional Dress, partaking
in Traditional Performances such as the Baris and Legong Dances,
immediately brings to mind the staple tourist images of Bali,
to be found in countless tourist brochures. With his concentrated
emphasis on the posing of his subjects, the placement and
gestures of their hands, and the detail of their elaborate
costumes, Leunissen suggests the fabrication of a fantasy
image, which has been created solely to perpetuate the mystification
of Bali for the entertainment of the tourists. Leunissen seems
to question the appropriateness of such accoutrements on children
that give the impression of being engulfed by their cultural
heritage.
Many Balinese who have come under the influence of Western
Culture in the form of MTV, Cinema, Fashion and the electronic
advancement of Technology, are now beginning to question the
enormous emphasis placed on Traditional Balinese Culture.
In photographs taken at the recent Kuta Karnival, Leunissen
shows these youth in carefree costumes that display their
sexual physicality. These images reveal a freedom of spirit
that finds its expression in a ‘disco’ sensibility,
rather than in traditional mystification. These youth appear
to be part of an emerging world-wide culture that would be
instantly recognized and understood by visiting Westerners.
In these refreshing photographs Leunissen implies an inevitable
globalization of Bali.
What is remarkable about Lou Leunissen’s exhibition,
‘Bali Faces’, is that it not only comments on
the conventions of the traditional manufactured and imposed
Balinese image and the heritage of Balinese tourist photography,
but, it also suggests that change is unavoidable and inevitable.
As Bali faces the task of re-building its Tourist Industry,
after yet another terrorist attack, the opportunity to re-evaluate
the commercial image of Bali presents itself. Leunissen’s
exhibition suggests an alternative and viable image. This
is a suggestion that the Balinese should consider following,
as their economic re-growth can no longer rely on their charming,
but, outdated and imposed manufactured images of Bali as a
romantic and innocent Paradise Lost.
