Born in 1976 in Indonesia, Wimo Ambala Bayang is a member of Ruang Mes 56, an artists’ collective dedicated to the development of discourse in contemporary photography in the country. He studied in the Modern School of Design and the photography department of the Indonesian Institute of the Arts (ISI) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Wimo Bayang’s photographic series and videos present a playful and unique perspective on Indonesian cultures and cultural practices. He has exhibited both at home, with presentations at the Jakarta Biennale (2009) and the Yogyakarta Biennale (2011), as well as abroad.‘Angkatan Kesembilan (The Ninth Troop)’ is part of a series of quirky and light-hearted photographs in which groups of people were invited to pose with plastic toy weaponry, alluding to the communist party and military troops from Indonesia’s not-too-distant turbulent post-Independence past. These photographs are humorous snapshots of the country’s distinctive micro-communities, but at the same time manifest Wimo Bayang’s unease with what he perceives as the overly complacent and laid-back attitudes found in parts of Indonesian society.
