Universitas Gadjah Mada’s Photography Student Activity Unit (UFO) has once again successfully held a photography exhibition titled ‘Temukan Makna’. The exhibition that lasted for three days, Friday-Sunday, November 8-10, presented various photographic works with the big theme ‘Kelana’. Held at Galeri Lorong, Kasihan, Bantul, this exhibition brought visitors to interpret more deeply the stories and journeys of human life while raising various forgotten issues. “Our work raises issues that are actually very important, but forgotten in society. Such as posters on the streets, garbage piled up in places that are not their function, rice fields that are eroded by land conversion, and the uncertain fate of fishermen on the south coast,” explained Fatimah Azzahrah, Chairman of the Exhibition Committee.
Fatimah explained that the exhibition does not only showcase the visual beauty of photography, but also displays photography as a medium to introduce social, cultural, and environmental issues to society. Displaying around 98 photography works, all works are the result of photos taken directly by members of the UGM Photography Student Activity Unit. “The total of 98 photos that we display in the exhibition are the results of 13 exhibitors who are members of UFO UGM, especially batch 31,” explained Naufal Arif, Exhibition Division Coordinator of UFO UGM.
Poernomo Maulana Rofif Aqilla, a student of the Vocational School, was one of the photographers who displayed his work in this exhibition. Through his work entitled ‘Living with the Sea’, Rofi shows the struggle of fishermen on the south coast to earn money every day. “I want to convey the life of fishermen in Depok Beach, whose lives are always side by side with the danger of sea waves in order to earn rupiah. Although not every day they are lucky, sometimes they are also prosperous,” explains Rofi.
The exhibition was also enlivened with several supporting events, one of which was a photography talk show. The photography talk show was held on the second day of the exhibition with guest speaker Aji Susanto Anom, a professional photographer and lecturer at the Department of Photography, Faculty of Recording Media Arts, ISI Yogyakarta. Themed ‘Exploration of Surrealism in Photography’, the talk show discussed how surrealism can manipulate visual elements to create unexpected photographs that invite subjective interpretations. In surrealist photography, the interpretation of the audience has no boundaries and no single truth as each person can judge the photo differently.
Spending about four months, the entire preparation of the exhibition was done directly by members of the 31st generation of UFO UGM, starting from determining the theme of the exhibition, concept research, hunting, curation, printing, to photo installation. According to Budi N.D. Dharmawan, the exhibition mentor, the entire creative process is done directly by the exhibitors. He only guides them to achieve their goals. “They set the goal, while I only show them the direction to reach it, both the direct path and the detour, while continuing to encourage rather than lead them,” Budi wrote.
Receiving great enthusiasm from the public, this exhibition managed to get around 289 visitors. For the UGM Photography Student Activity Unit, this exhibition was present not only as a forum for members to continue their creative work, but also as a place to increase the existence of the UGM Photography Student Activity Unit so that it is increasingly recognized by the community. This is in line with the statement delivered by the supervisor of UGM Photography Student Activity Unit. “Becoming a photographer does need a process, through this exhibition UFO XXXI members have shown traces of their achievements in displaying the results of their contemplation.” said Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Harno Dwi Pranowo, M.S., supervisor of UGM Photography Student Activity Unit. (Firzanah Nuraini / UFO Public Relations)