The Burden
Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia, Asia
Camera: Rolleiflex
The story: "Learning to see, to see with complete understanding, is one of the hardest things I had to learn as an artist. Life is so busy, so full of complex forms and movement, and so full of attachment. In the West there is too much for our senses to absorb. In third-world countries, the pace is slower. Time has a different meaning. So much of my everyday experience has to do with stopping and watching the minute details around me.
There was chaos in the street. A group of laborers was unloading a truck in a back street of Yogyakarta, on the island of Java. Rising voices, straining muscles, the smell of sweat, and the constant of the oppressive heat gave emphasis to the human effort. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a man who had had enough. Framed in his own little space was a middle-aged man, bent over from years of hard labor. A muscle-rippled body characterized him as one who carried. The materials and goods around him gave definition to his life. And there was his bicycle, glowing in the back, waiting to lead him on another journey."
