Photography ‘Amongst The Waves, Doves, Spiders, and Its Webs’

On 13th October 2024 at Uma Seminyak on Bali, Asrul opened his solo-exposition ‘Amongst The Waves, Doves, Spiders, and Its Webs’. The exposition welcomed about 300 visitors, after a great opening night, with a traditional dancer, a poet, the protagonists and the local queer community present.

Document Our History Now was very happy to support Asrul’s project and organise the opening event. With many thanks for making this possible: the Queer Language Club on Bali and the embassy of the Netherlands in Jakarta.

For a video impression of the opening, click here.

About the exposition (in Asrul his words):

According to UNHCR ‘forced displacement’ is defined as people displaced ‘as a result of persecution, conflict, generalized violence or human rights violations.’ For the queer community being forcibly displaced is a familiar experience, it is a journey of the pursuit of self-ownership. This journey is followed by challenges of leaving behind the known, adapting to new environments, forging connections, and constructing a sanctuary that resonates with the essence of home. But what, one might ask, is the essence of home, and where does it reside?

‘ Amongst The Waves, Doves, Spiders, and Its Webs’ is a photo documentary project based on a narrative construct that mixes fact with fiction. It is a poetic visual document of a journey that speaks of the universal quest for belonging, identity, and self-possession, drawing parallels between the Prophet, Muhammad, and the queer individuals who left their home towns and settled in Bali, the island of gods.

‘ Amongst The Waves, Doves, Spiders, and Its Webs’ is inspired by the story of Hijrah.  Alfikar and Lutfilah wrote in the editor’s note in Islam dan Tubuh-Tubuh Queer, The Prophet Muhammad and his followers experienced marginalization, discrimination, and oppression.