The Blindness Of The Sea

The Blindness Of The Sea
2019 - ongoing
A wall is an act of human intervention. In the north of Jakarta, Indonesia, a seawall that extends far beyond what the eye can see attempts to separate land from water. Constructed as a brace against the relentlessness of time and water, it is in hope that the seawall will bring security of the future. But at the same time, it is a naked reminder of the ruthless nature of progress.
With nature as my starting point and the wall as the anchor, I travelled along the north edges of Jakarta in search of fragments. The wall stands for many things, what was and what is, ideas, dreams, and even hope. But ultimately, the physicality of the wall is a construct too stark to ignore. Getting over the wall would entail climbing makeshift ladders, some constructed with rope and driftwood, just to find a spot to fish or find a connection between one’s eyes and the sounds of the sea.

The photographs are but only a fragment of time and place, and a connection to the world we inhabit and inhibit.
With sea levels rising in Southeast Asia and the world, The Blindness Of The Sea is a work of parallels and fragments, a question of our choices, and a dialogue between the tension present between our past actions, current decisions, and future reality.