Written by Jonah Meyers
As travelers, when we come upon a place that is so far removed from what we know, the experience can feel surreal—as if you’re attending an extravagant theatrical production with elaborate set pieces and costumed performers. This was my experience when I first visited Lombok, an island that lies just east of Bali in Indonesia.
The people of this predominantly Muslim island survive, for the most part, on subsistence farming and live in small village communities where they share food and supplies.
For me, the sensory effect of being on the island is overwhelming – the smell of burning coconut, the frenetic energy of the outdoor markets, the intense colors of the architecture and clothing, the 4 AM call to prayer…
“The portraits I am presenting here of local farmers, schoolchildren, and island workers blur the lines between documentary and fiction. They are an attempt to capture the sense of magical realism on experiences when they find themselves in a completely foreign world.”
About the Artist:
Jonah Meyers (born 1971, New York USA) is a fine art photographer based in Singapore and New York. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in film and photography from the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College in 1993, Jonah worked in photography and film for a few years before changing careers entirely. In 1998, he founded a software company that he would grow globally over the next 17 years. In 2015, he sold the company and returned to taking photographs.
