Hengki Koentjoro was born in March 24, 1963 in Semarang, central java, Indonesia. Koentjoro explores the mystical beauty of nature through black and white photography, always finding a way to make common and ordinary things, unusual.[1] This photograph entitled “Toads” is one of the many works Koentjoro has taken under his theme of “Aquanaut”. “An Aquanaut is any individual who remains underwater, exposed to the ambient pressure, long enough to come into equilibrium with his or her breathing media.” “Aquanaut derives from the Latin word aqua ("water") plus the Greek nautes ("sailor"), by analogy to the similar construction "astronaut"”. [2]
Hengki Koentjoro tends to only use natural light in all of his works focusing on the beautiful aspect of nature. In this image, the primary light source is the sunlight above the ocean’s depths, which casts a shadow on the people swimming. The bright and intense source of sunlight creates a dramatic effect on the shadows, making the human figures ambiguous as they take on a un-humanlike shape and form. This can evoke a sense fear of what is unfamiliar or unknown. In order to capture this, the photographer had to be underneath the figures, and looking above.
I believe that the message the artist was trying to convey in this photograph is that humans can easily take on different qualities and attributes that enable them to seem less human-like and more alien. Entitling the photograph “Toads” further proves that when stripped of our human features, it is not hard to become something similar to that of a creature or animal. I also believe Koentjoro wants to promote becoming one with nature.
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