REBORN: AMBON AFTER THE CONFLICT
PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION LAUNCH & SYMPOSIUM

In January 1999 a minor disagreement on a city bus on the eastern Indonesian island of Ambon sparked a chain of horrific violence which lasted nearly four years.
The strain of the continuing economic crisis in Indonesia, and local political rivalries combined with national concerns, such as uncertainty about the future role of the military in Jakarta politics, and the rise of radical Islam are all factors in this complex conflict, which has often been misunderstood as a war between Islam and Christianity.
The violence resulted in the death of at least 5000 people and the displacement of hundreds of thousands more.
The city of Ambon and the economy of the province of Maluku is in ruins.
Although recent months have seen unprecedented calm, the process of reconciliation and reconstruction will be slow and difficult.

Reborn: Ambon after the Conflict is an exhibition of photographs by the Indonesian photographer Tantyo Bangun.
Taken over a period of several weeks in August and September this year, they illustrate some of challenges the Maluku people are facing in rebuilding their community, and the progress they have made recently in restoring normality to a shattered society. This exhibition provides an opportunity to see recent images from an area of Indonesia that rarely makes the news in Australia.
Symposium speakers will include the Hon. Mayor of Ambon (TBC), Professor Richard Chauvel, Director of the Australia Asia Pacific Institute at Victoria University, and Ms Aretha Kakerissa of the Melbourne Ambonese community.

Tantyo Bangun is a Jakarta-based photographer.
He travels extensively throughout Indonesia, documenting the variety and humanity of Indonesian life. Tantyo�s work has appeared in a range of international publications, including Time, National Geographic, and Asiaweek. His 2001 exhibition Senjakala Tradisi (The Twilight of Tradition), explored Indonesians� varying relationships with traditional culture in a modernising world. This exhibition follows a successful Sydney show earlier this year, Indonesia from the Inside.