Year: 2019

“I want to tell the story of Papua’s grief with my photos.”

Albertus Vembrianto (Vembri) from Timika Papua is a photographer and a storyteller. That combination makes it so special. His photos are a message he sends out to the world: “Look closely in the eyes of these people and see what is happening in Papua.”

Through stories and photos he portrays the everyday life of ordinary people in the villages of Papua: sharp, lively and moving. The existence of the Papuans is threatened by the disappearance of their familiar world with their protective traditions. Their biotope, the rainforest, is rapidly disappearing to make way for huge palm oil plantations, large-scale mining and megalomaniacal road construction. Vembri impressively records the stress, confusion, fear and uncertainty of these forgotten Papuans. The distress of many Papuans in a rapidly changing world is portrayed by him in an oppressive way. Vembri would love to continue his project, but his professional camera with accessories was recently stolen. Hapin, in consultation with our team in Papua, has decided to help him. His work really helps to portray the harrowing fate of the Papuans.

Want to see more of Vembri? A visit to his website www.albertusvembrianto.com is worth it.