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At Home With Indonesian Photographer Jerry Aurum
Lisa Siregar | October 16, 2009

Jerry Aurum posing in front of photos from his exhibition ‘Femalography.’ (Photo courtesy of the artist) Jerry Aurum posing in front of photos from his exhibition ‘Femalography.’ (Photo courtesy of the artist)
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In his studio-cum-office on Arteri Pondok Indah in South Jakarta, Jerry Aurum is busy preparing for his next photography exhibition. A huge printer, courtesy of a sponsor, is spitting out a photograph of Denada, a popular Indonesian singer from the ’90s. She has been snapped laughing at her reflection in the mirror.

Also in the studio is a photograph of Ferry Salim, an actor and fashion designer, holding a cigar in a bathtub, his body covered with foam. Another of Jerry’s images features Indonesian actress Wulan Guritno sitting a bed.

These photos will be shown as part of Jerry’s seventh solo exhibition, “In My Room.” The show will contain more than 100 photos of Indonesian public figures in their personal space, including Martha Tilaar, Rudy Hadisuwarno, Hermawan Kertajaya, Indah Sita Nursanti, Rachel Maryam, Sandra Dewi and Ade Rai.

Jerry’s last exhibition, “Femalography,” focused solely on images of women. This time, though, he said he did not want his photos to be so conceptual or carefully prepared. He wanted to be more spontaneous in capturing portraits.

“To hold an exhibition of portraits is actually a risky thing to do, because it’s easy for the public to get bored,” Jerry said. “So, I needed to offer an intriguing idea. It had to be photos of public figures, so people could connect.”

He also thought it would be interesting to photograph these public figures in their comfort zone. “So I decided to take photos of public figures in their personal space,” he said.

It took him two years to complete the photographs for this exhibition. He said he held to his original plan of being spontaneous, and none of the shoots took more than 20 minutes.

“Usually, the chitchat after the photo session took much longer,” he said.

Jerry began his career as a photographer in 1992, while he was still in high school, after he spent all of his savings on his first camera — a Nikon FM II. In an attempt to earn money back on his investment he took photographs of his siblings’ friends in return for money.

After he graduated from the Bandung Institute of Technology with a major in visual communication, he briefly worked in a graphic design house. That lasted less than four months before he decided he didn’t enjoy working for other people.

After he resigned he was commissioned to take photographs of a site for an oil and gas company. “The payment for my first freelance job was equal to my salary for two years, so I thought I would just work for myself,” Jerry said.

While these days he often shoots for advertisements, he has also done fashion photography and well as snapping landscapes and nature.

“I don’t want people to put label on me,” Jerry said.

In My Room
Oct. 21 to Nov. 1
Main atrium
Senayan City