dwiputras Opens up the world

My Photo scholarship 2011 entry

Indonesia | Monday, November 7, 2011 | flickr photos

Topeng Monyet (meaning: masked monkey) is one form of traditional entertainment in Indonesia. During my vacation to my hometown in Banjarnegara, Central Java, I got a chance to follow Mr. Muklis and his monkey, Pretty, on their normal day and see how they prepare for the Topeng Monyet performance.

While most people are under the impression that masked monkeys are always treated poorly by their handlers, it was not the case for Pretty. For Mr. Muklis, Pretty is not only an object for making money, but also his colleague and his family. I want to introduce the place where affection and love could be involved in this so called animal exploitation, while still being indifferent.

Even though Mr. Muklis treats Pretty nicely, animals are still better off living in their true habitat. Pretty is just one of a very few lucky monkeys that are being taken care of well. With my photos, I would like to urge all of us and particularly animal activists to see this issue from a broader perspective. While animal exploitation is indeed part of the major issue, poverty is what really driving these monkey handlers to do so. If poverty issues could be solved, the monkey handlers could turn away from monkey exploitation activities.

As a journalism student and an animal enthusiast, taking picture of animals has been my obsession since a long time ago. Through this WorldNomads scholarship opportunity, I believe I have the quality needed to capture the African wildlife with my passion both in wildlife and photography. It would be a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn from Jason Edwards, in addition to my childhood dream of seeing the African wildlife directly. I hope it would open up a path to my future career as a wildlife photographer.