Anton Gautama
In 2015, Indonesia artist Anton Gautama (1969-2021) began a series of works that would
form a trilogy resulting in three publications, Pabean Passage, Home Sweet Home and
The Outsider . The trilogy document cultural aspects of his place of residence, Surabaya,
Indonesia. This exhibition presents works from all three series with an emphasis on
his final project, published after his untimely passing in 2021.
P abean Passage (2016) documents a spice market Gautama knew as a child. Home Sweet
Home (2017) is an intimate portrayal the interiors of homes of Indonesians of Chinese
descent. The Outsider (2023) documents a dilapidated three-hundred-year-old Dutch
Colonial building which became a landing place and refuge for Chinese Indonesians
in the 1940s following social unrest. Known as “Satan House” for its proximity to
a cemetery and its menacing appearance, the building continues to house an ethnic
mix of Indonesians surviving and resilient despite unfortunate circumstances. Anton
Gautama is quoted from Singapore base publisher DECK’s website:
"The Outsider is the last part of my trilogy project. I have previously published two books: Pabean Passage and Home Sweet Home. Pabean Passage tells about a century-old market in Surabaya, a place that was very memorable during my childhood. Home Sweet Home features Chinese-Indonesian home interiors in Makassar and Surabaya – where I was born and raised. The Outsider, this book, offers a view towards my life as an adult and the result of my lifelong rumination on life."
The Outsider
From the Outsiders series
Antona Gautama was born in 1969 in Indonesia and made his home in Surabaya. His photographs have been included in LensCulture and National Geographic Travel. His exhibitions include works at the Goethe Institute in Jakarta, XX Encuentros Abiertos Fesstival de La Luz in Buenos Aires, Brazil, Ballaarat International Foto Biennia in Victoria, Australia, the Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts in Portland, Oregon, and previously at FotoFest in Houston.