Catriona Richards

Jakarta Globe, February 24, 2012

Nothing says leisure like the band White Shoes & The Couples Company. The open-necked, boat-shoed darlings of Jakarta’s indie scene were welcomed back last weekend from their European tour at the launch of their own photography exhibition titled “Pagelaran Album Vakansi” (“Vacation Album Exhibition”).

Held at Dia.Lo.Gue Artspace in Kemang, South Jakarta, the exhibition offers a nostalgic look at the idea of the family vacation. The result is a kaleidoscope of yellowing film and forgotten casual fashions, bringing back fond memories of happier times. The theme is in keeping with the band’s most recent album, “Vakansi” (“Vacation”), released in 2010.

The exhibition opening featured a performance by the retro-chic artists themselves, accompanied by special guests Oomleo (an occasional songwriter for the band) and Norwegian indie-pop star Erlend Oye, best known for his acts Kings of Convenience, The Whitest Boy Alive and Royskopp.

Jakarta is the third stop for the exhibition (which was previously shown in Yogyakarta and Surabaya), but is the first to show shots of the band in Europe, where they were spotted in signature vintage style at some of the continent’s most famous landmarks. The rest of the photographs were contributed in April and May last year by the band’s fans as part of an art project called “Proyek Album Foto Vakansi” (“Vacation Photo Album Project”).

Vocalist Aprilia Apsari came up with the concept for the exhibition when she discovered stacks of old holiday snaps in second-hand markets at Jalan Surabaya and Pasar Senen in Central Jakarta. Aprilia decided to start a collection of family vacation portraits, and asked fans to submit their own snapshots with an explanation of the setting via social media.

The band’s manager Indra Ameng, who is also a coordinator for ruangrupa artspace in South Jakarta, took on the role of curator, and helped the band pick about 200 shots from the 900 contributed by fans across the country. The amateur vacation portraits, along with some of the stories, are displayed on the gallery walls alongside the band’s polished publicity shots.

The contributions range from standard vacation snaps by the sea to families camping, visiting famous landmarks or traveling by train. Some of the so-called vacation snaps were even taken at home.

“Rich people take their vacations in Europe or Australia, but poor people cannot really afford to go on vacation,” explained White Shoes bassist Ricky Surya Virgana. “So every time they spend time together with their neighbors during [Muslim celebration] Idul Adha, they call it a vacation.”

Setiohadi, a contributor from Yogyakarta, relates his memories of traveling by public transport with family. “I used to take the bus with my father go to Solo by train, get on another bus, have lunch at a warung [food stall], then turn around and come home. It was a simple way to travel, but I loved it,” he writes.

Another contributor, Alexander Matius of Jakarta, tells how his family albums became a source of comfort after his father passed away. Alexander contributed a photograph of his father as a young man on horseback. “I could just see the enthusiastic spirit of my father’s youth [in the picture],” Alexander wrote. “I wished I could hear the stories behind all of those scenes in his photo album.”

The band’s own trip to Europe this month was funded by Music Services Asia, to help them take the stage at the Midem music trade fair in Cannes, France. The six-member band also performed in Paris and Amsterdam during the trip. Ricky said that the Paris gig was the highlight.

“They say if you can make a Paris audience start dancing and clapping then you’re doing OK,” he said, adding that the reaction was particularly strong for their rendition of a Brigitte Bardot number.

Already signed to North American label Minty Fresh Records for distribution in the United States, Japan and Australia, White Shoes is one of the few local acts to realize the dream of going international with their music. And the members have done it without changing their look or releasing an English-language album.

Support act Oye said that he was taken with the band the first time he visited with the other half of Kings of Convenience in 2006, because they were surprisingly familiar with international trends, but also true to their roots.

“The cool thing is that they are still very Indonesian,” he said. “You know, around the world there are pockets of people who are inspired by international niches of music, but they also try to copy everything. But White Shoes, they put so much of their own background in. They sing in their own language. And that interests me and I care about it.”

Further discussion about the links between music, graphic design and image creation will be hosted by band manager Indra and Irwan Ahmett from ruangrupa artspace this afternoon at Dia.Lo.Gue.

Pagelaran Album Vakansi
Until Sunday, March 4
Discussion with Indra Ameng, Irwan Ahmett and White Shoes & The Couples Company today from 4 p.m.
Dia.Lo.Gue Artspace
Jl. Kemang Selatan No. 99A, South Jakarta
Tel. 021 7199671