TANGAN
TENUN

^{Collaboration,
Art Direction,
Moving Photography}

A puristic response to the impact of cultural imperialism in Indonesian culture. Tangan Tenun is a direct translation from Weaving Hands, showing hands of a traditional Indonesian weaver and 'painted' hands assimilating that
of a caucasian.

I collaborated with few friends in Indonesia to do a moving photo series to address the issue of cultural imperialism in the country. ‘Traditionalists’ (my friends) in the country feels that the local culture has diminished over time due to the influence of Western culture on the media. We understand that this particular issue errs on the side of controversy. We had to keep the execution as direct and simplistic as possible in order to avoid further complications but still get our points across.

The moving photo series features two sets of hands. The darker one belongs to a traditional Indonesian weaver and the other is painted white to resemble the influence of Western culture in Indonesia.

Seq. 2

^{Weaving motion in the traditional Indonesian ‘Ikat’ making}

Seq. 3

Seq. 4 

^{Although perceptions on the impact of globalisation varies, many in Indonesia still hold on to the sentiment that it has been a curse to the Indonesian economy}

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^{‘Loss of cultural identity’}

Seq. 6

^{Narrates the ‘white-washing’ of local culture}