Photo © marten slothouwer
Talent of the Year 2020 - NOMINEE: marten slothouwer
Singkil
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This series consists of 10 silver gelatin 8x10” contact prints, made in 2020. The pictures were taken in September 2019, in Singkil, a regency in the indonesian Province of Aceh.
About the Series
The global decline of ecosystems and biodiversity is accelerating. It is said we now live in the age of the 6th mass extinction. This series is made along the boundary of the world renowned Leuser Ecosystem, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. This forest reserve is a last stronghold for several species on the edge of extinction.
The southern part of the Leuser Ecosystem consist of a low-laying swamp forest. This coastal peat forest is unique in terms of size, remoteness and biodiversity. It has a protected status and is called the Singkil Wildlife Reserve.
Outside the Singkil wildlife reserve the landscape is characterized by shrub- and agricultural lands, and rural communities and small towns, connected by a network of roads and waterways.
Staring at the forest edge across the river (picture #1) is an ambiguous experience. The reserve’s boundary does not only demarcate what remains, it’s also testimony of what’s gone. In a sense a nature reserve is an indirect, yet tangible manifestation of the age of the 6th mass extinction. This perceptual duality is reflected in the landscape surrounding the reserve. It is strange and distant, yet peaceful and quiet. at the same time.
Is it possible to say anything meaningful about living in the age of the 6th mass extinction, a reality that has no precedent or reference points in the history of mankind? Mass extinction is a fuzzy space, something beyond what can be directly observed. Perhaps the boundary of the Singkil Wildlife reserve is the closest I can get. The things in front of the camera possess an almost tangible clarity.
Soon a new bridge will connect the isolated reserve to Indonesia’s main road network. A strange silence looms over the surrounding landscape, as if it is waiting for the change to come.
About author:
I'm a (mostly) self-taught photographer, Dutch, born in 1981 in Amsterdam and currently living in Berlin, Germany. I'm a father of 2 boys.
For my main body of work I travel regularly (when possible) to the Indonesian Island of Sumatra.
For almost 20 years, I've been involved in wildlife research, conservation and media projects in this region, mostly in the island's most northern province of Aceh.
Renewed interest in American landscape photography (R. Adams, Baltz ia.) have sparked new ways of looking at my own long connection with Sumatra's changing landscape. About 2 years ago I started documenting this landscape, in 8x10" large format.
I develop and print in my own darkroom in Berlin. All work shown here are scans from 8x10" contact silver prints.
About the Series
The global decline of ecosystems and biodiversity is accelerating. It is said we now live in the age of the 6th mass extinction. This series is made along the boundary of the world renowned Leuser Ecosystem, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. This forest reserve is a last stronghold for several species on the edge of extinction.
The southern part of the Leuser Ecosystem consist of a low-laying swamp forest. This coastal peat forest is unique in terms of size, remoteness and biodiversity. It has a protected status and is called the Singkil Wildlife Reserve.
Outside the Singkil wildlife reserve the landscape is characterized by shrub- and agricultural lands, and rural communities and small towns, connected by a network of roads and waterways.
Staring at the forest edge across the river (picture #1) is an ambiguous experience. The reserve’s boundary does not only demarcate what remains, it’s also testimony of what’s gone. In a sense a nature reserve is an indirect, yet tangible manifestation of the age of the 6th mass extinction. This perceptual duality is reflected in the landscape surrounding the reserve. It is strange and distant, yet peaceful and quiet. at the same time.
Is it possible to say anything meaningful about living in the age of the 6th mass extinction, a reality that has no precedent or reference points in the history of mankind? Mass extinction is a fuzzy space, something beyond what can be directly observed. Perhaps the boundary of the Singkil Wildlife reserve is the closest I can get. The things in front of the camera possess an almost tangible clarity.
Soon a new bridge will connect the isolated reserve to Indonesia’s main road network. A strange silence looms over the surrounding landscape, as if it is waiting for the change to come.
About author:
I'm a (mostly) self-taught photographer, Dutch, born in 1981 in Amsterdam and currently living in Berlin, Germany. I'm a father of 2 boys.
For my main body of work I travel regularly (when possible) to the Indonesian Island of Sumatra.
For almost 20 years, I've been involved in wildlife research, conservation and media projects in this region, mostly in the island's most northern province of Aceh.
Renewed interest in American landscape photography (R. Adams, Baltz ia.) have sparked new ways of looking at my own long connection with Sumatra's changing landscape. About 2 years ago I started documenting this landscape, in 8x10" large format.
I develop and print in my own darkroom in Berlin. All work shown here are scans from 8x10" contact silver prints.