Final Project Exhibition of Photography Students, Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Indonesia Institute of the Arts Padangpanjang
By Rivaldi Ihsan
In 2019, from dawn until 10.00 am, the weather was still very cold in the city of Padang Panjang. But the spirit of activity continues to run according to the plan that Fasli wants. Fasli is a Photography student who will carry out the final project exhibition exam for the creation of Photography in the Nusantara building on the ISI Padang Panjang campus. Since yesterday he was seen busy preparing all the needs of the exhibition in the Nusantara building until morning he was still seen busy arranging chairs for visitors and examiners.
Exactly at 10.00 am the exhibition began with the opening of a host then remarks from the head of the department then continued with remarks from Fasli to present the photos on display with the theme ‘sleep in public’. The theme ‘sleep in public’ is an idea that originated from Fasli's empirical experience when he was in social public spaces such as stations, terminals, and markets. As he observed social behaviours, the idea of why people can sleep while in public places was born. Even though when in a public place the atmosphere is certainly crowded with various sights and sounds. But people can just sleep peacefully regardless of the noises and so on. This shows how modern society lacks time to rest from a full day's routine. The cause of fatigue is physical and mental exhaustion from work. In addition, the atmosphere of traffic waiting for departure and while on the train or bus is used to rest to sleep.
The idea of Fasli's final project in the creation of photography was inspired by inemuri or the practice of falling asleep at work that Japanese people do in their daily lives. The culture of sleeping during working hours in Japan is really appreciated by the Japanese government by allowing workers to take a short nap during working hours. Permission to sleep during working hours from the Japanese government is applied to Japanese people, because they are disciplined, total, and productive while working from morning to night. While in Indonesia, the culture of sleeping is still not understood because it is less comfortable and beautiful to the eye, sometimes snoring, and salivating.
The locations of Fasli's portraits are in public spaces such as airport terminals, bus, angkot terminals, train stations, and market centres where people interact with traders and buy for their daily needs. These locations have been observed by Fasli in advance, such as observations, interviews, and participant observers. The results of Fasli's research observations, that most people are aware that sleeping is part of fatigue after a day's activity, there are also those who deliberately pretend to sleep by closing their eyes so that their seats are not given to other people who are standing. Fasli states that the genre of his photographic works is street photography or photos taken on the streets or public spaces, especially in Jakarta, Padang City, and Padang Panjang City.
The stores presented in Fasli's photos are men who work as public transport drivers or office workers, mothers who are traders in the market and office workers, and millennial youths who are asleep on trains and at airport terminals. The selection of characters is in accordance with the moments that occur when Fasli is in public spaces. For taking photos, Fasli is careful not to let the sleeping object be known, because if he is caught he is usually told to delete the shots.
Quoting from photographer Fred Herzog, the street photography genre means showing the reality on the streets. There are three realities on the streets that need to be considered by a street photographer. First, the location is the public space of streets, terminals, shops, restaurants, and markets; second, the subject of the photo is humans in public spaces who are on the move, but it can also be other than humans such as architectural details; third, the nature of street photography is the reality as it is without being specially arranged and posed.
From Fred Herzog's street photography criteria above, Fasli has worked on the rules of street photography, but to support the photo work ‘sleep in public’ he conducted research first for three to six months. After his research, he then determines the social phenomena that are worthy of being made into photographic works. Fasli's 20 photographs tell various stories of the sleeping positions of passengers, angkot drivers, and market traders, as well as the positions of people who are asleep such as sitting, standing and lying down. From all of Fasli's street photography works, dominated by black and white colours, it is very impressive how he tries to draw back using light as if we are in the photo of the sleeping people.